The Lightning Tree
by Snoe
Summary: Lilly had never met anyone like Miley Stewart before - mysterious, fun, beautiful. But in the town of Crowley Corners secrets abound. Lilly is mystified by the town's odd behavior regarding her new friend, but she is determined to find the truth. LILEY
1. Chapter 1

**HM – The Lightning Tree**

.**  
**

**Rating: T** for language and sexual situations**  
**

**Summary: **Lilly had never met anyone like Miley Stewart before - mysterious, fun, beautiful. But in the town of Crowley Corners secrets abound. Lilly is mystified by the town's odd behavior regarding her new friend, but she is determined to find the truth.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 1**

The heat blanketed her, it invaded her and it was making her utterly miserable. She had spent her entire childhood in Southern California, but this was nothing like the summers there. This was sticky and oppressing and hard to breathe and she hated it already. They had only been in Tennessee for five minutes and she was ready to go home. Of course, Lilly thought derisively, this **hellhole** was their home now and never again would she enjoy cool ocean breezes and the feel of the surf carrying her body. From now on she would only get to be sweaty and dirty, suffering from an overpopulation of mosquitoes and, quite possibly, have to eat some sort of road kill on a regular basis. Right at that moment, Lilly hated her parents.

"This is nice, isn't it, kids?" said Ken Truscott, taking a deep breath of the country air and spreading his arms wide. He was practically standing in the middle of the road, but no cars were coming.

"This is a horror movie waiting to happen," said Lilly's older brother, Michael, morosely and Lilly was glad at least one person was on her side. She followed his gaze to the building across the road. It was old, dilapidated, a health hazard for sure. The large glass windows lining the building were covered in dust and Lilly could hardly see the, likely sticky and ripped, vinyl booths inside. Large neon letters were mounted on the front of the building that once spelled out 'The Diner', but some of the letters had fallen off and Lilly grimaced at what was left of them. She hoped 'Te Die' was not indicative of what the food would do to her.

"It looks quaint," said Heather Truscott, trying to keep a positive tone in her voice, but her kids could tell the diner was not her first choice of restaurant. Lilly wondered if there even was another choice in this town. Judging by the name, it at the very least looked like there was only one diner in town. Add that to the creepy, half-dead tree they had passed somewhere in town, and this really was like a set out of a horror movie.

Lilly threw a brief glance at their shiny SUV parked across the road, looking completely out of place among the two or three beat-up, old and rusty trucks she had seen around. She hoped all her belongings would be safe and some hillbilly didn't break into the SUV and steal their stuff. She had practically begged her parents to just go straight to their new house, lack of furniture and cooking utensils be damned. But here they were, sweating in the oppressive Tennessee heat, about to enter a death-trap diner and her parents didn't even seem concerned.

A bell jingled as they entered and Lilly met her brother's eyes, both of them wearing identical 'Kill me now' looks. The family crowded into the entrance way somewhat awkwardly, but the cool breeze sweeping over them from the air conditioner was too nice to pass up. It was pleasing enough Lilly suddenly felt herself amenable to staying. An older woman in an ugly blue uniform was wiping down the bar and looked up as she saw them. "Y'all sit wherever ya'd like. Mindy will be right with y'all."

Ken nodded appreciatively and ushered his family to an empty booth by one of the windows. The diner was mostly empty but for a few older men sharing a booth and arguing loudly, a family with small children, a few grimy guys at the bar and a girl on one of the barstools who seemed completely out of place.

Lilly had noticed her first and shoved past her brother to sit on the far side of the booth, just so she had an unobstructed view of the bar. She could not explain why she had done it; she normally prided herself on not being a perverted oogler of pretty girls, but something just wouldn't let her look away. Though she could only see her partially from the side, the girl looked to be about Lilly's age. She had her brunette hair tied up in a messy bun and her skin looked naturally tan. The girl was wearing jeans, despite the heat, a tight t-shirt and knock-off Converse, but even though she wasn't decked out in designer gear, Lilly didn't think she looked like a dirty hillbilly. The girl was quite beautiful and Lilly hadn't expected to see anyone like that in this kind of town.

She caught an elbow in her ribs and turned to glare at her brother. Michael was smirking. "You know, they'd probably string you up for that here."

Her eyes darkened. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He nodded towards the girl. "Staring at that hillbilly. You know they don't have gays in Tennessee."

Lilly scoffed and averted her eyes from the brunette. "Well, they do now. Hey, when'd you guys order drinks?"

Michael laughed, holding up his glass of Coke. Moisture was beading on it and the ice cubes clinked together tantalizingly inside the glass. Lilly's mouth suddenly felt incredibly dry and she reached for her own glass, only to discover there wasn't one.

"The waitress came by while you were off in gay la-la-land. Though come to think of it, I think that's redundant…I mean, la-la-land is probably always gay…" Michael went off on a tangent and Lilly rolled her eyes. She briefly considered merely taking his glass, but it wasn't worth the fight. She just wanted a cool, refreshing glass of Coca Cola. The blonde girl stood and punched her brother in the arm, before walking to the bar.

The old lady tending the bar was wiping off the back counters and had her back turned, so Lilly stood behind the barstools and waited. She'd purposefully picked the ones almost right next to the brunette girl, but told herself it was merely because it was where the old woman was standing. And in all honesty, the grimy men a few stools down creeped her out. Lilly tried not to be too obvious, but she snuck a glance at the girl just two stools down. A glass sat in front of her, half full, while she was shredding a napkin into a neat little pile before her. She looked utterly bored, though intensely focused on her task, until she noticed Lilly.

The girl looked up and Lilly swallowed hard when she met her eyes. They were incredibly blue and reminded her of the ocean she already missed so much. There was a sadness in the blue she immediately recognized, though she'd never been one to read people's emotions well. She felt herself moving closer subconsciously. The girl smiled brightly and Lilly's heart did a funky beat. She knew she must have been staring, but it took all her willpower to shake herself out of her stupor.

"Are you alright?" asked the girl with a small smile and Lilly shook her head to clear it, offering a smile in return.

"Yeah, sorry…must be the heat. I'm just not used to it." What a lame excuse, she thought, but the beautiful stranger seemed to accept it.

"Where are you from?"

Lilly decided she liked the girl's voice. It was somewhat husky, but not enough so to be off-putting and her Southern accent was just present enough to be noticeable, but not enough to make her cringe. Lilly could never have imagined that the first local she would speak to in her new middle-of-nowhere, Deliverance hometown, would be the most mesmerizing and beautiful girl she had ever seen.

"Malibu, California. The best place on earth," said Lilly wistfully, thinking back to the beach and the palm trees and civilization.

The girl laughed softly. "And here I always thought Crowley Corners, Tennessee was the best place on earth. I guess I was wrong."

Lilly made a face, realizing she'd come close to insulting the town this girl obviously lived in. The town Lilly now lived in. "Have you lived here all your life?"

The brunette seemed not to care about Lilly's lack of enthusiasm for the town and grinned, "Born and raised." She spread out the shredded pieces of napkin in front of her, before piling them back into a tower. She looked at Lilly again, face serious. "Am I the first hillbilly you've met?"

Lilly felt her face flush and was rendered speechless, struggling to come up with words. "What…I…Why?"

The girl laughed and Lilly's insides turned to mush. "I'm just jerking your chain. How long have you been here? I've never seen you around."

Lilly wiped a hand across her brow, nervous. She was making a fool of herself in front of this girl. "Uh…like ten minutes, I guess. We just got into town, decided to eat before going to our new house."

The girl's eyes widened. "Are y'all that family that's moving into the old Honnecker place?"

Lilly shrugged. She had no idea where they were moving to; she hadn't even wanted to look at pictures of the house – she'd known she would hate it regardless. The girl nodded, however, as if her question had merely been rhetorical. She looked down again at her napkin. Michael shouted her name and Lilly turned, seeing that her family already had their food. She hadn't ordered any of that, either. She glared at him grumpily as he theatrically stuffed a fry into his mouth.

"Is that your brother?"

Lilly turned back to the girl, nodding. "Yeah, and he's a pain. Sometimes I wanna just…ugh. Do you have any siblings?"

It was almost imperceptible, but Lilly noticed the girl's hand twitch. She merely shook her head and looked away. Lilly wondered if she was being dismissed. After a few moments, in which Lilly's awkwardness tripled, the girl looked back at her, smiling again. "I'm Miley, by the way."

Lilly smiled, relieved and stuck out her hand for the girl to shake. "Lilly."

"Well, Lilly from California, it's nice to meet you."

"Same here," said Lilly softly, trying not to blush again at the feel of the girl's skin against hers. Here she was, less than an hour into her life in Tennessee, and she was already having impure thoughts about near strangers.

Miley pointed at the old lady behind the counter. "If you want to order something, you're gonna have to yell. Edna's pretty good at ignoring the customers."

Lilly made a face and Miley, seeing her discomfort, yelled the woman's name until she turned. The gray-haired lady gave Miley a stern look, though it did not seem serious. "What now, child? Can't you see I'm working?"

Miley rolled her eyes. "Then get to work, Edna. My friend here wants to order something."

Lilly's heart did a flip at hearing Miley refer to her as her friend. She smiled at her new friend, until she noticed the expectant look Edna was giving her. Lilly hadn't even thought about what to order, but then again, all diner fare was normally the same. She shrugged. "Can I just get a Coke…and…some chicken tenders?"

Edna nodded and began jotting it down, but Miley interrupted her. "You don't want those." She met Lilly's eyes. "Trust me."

Lilly swallowed hard, but managed to nod. For some strange reason, she felt like she did trust the stranger. She shrugged. "How about a cheeseburger?"

Miley shook her head and, seeing the confusion on Lilly's face, turned to Edna. "She'll have a Grilled Cheese."

Edna glared at the girl, shaking her head. "I swear, Miley Ray, you have no sense of business. Your order will be right out, hun."

The woman left for the kitchen and Lilly studied the girl next to her again. "So, I guess I should thank you for saving me from certain death?"

Miley grinned. "It would've been rude to let you get food poisoning on your first day here…Southern hospitality and all. But you might wanna warn your brother; I think he ordered the burger." She motioned towards the booth Lilly's family was in. Lilly glanced over her shoulder at them and shrugged.

"No, I think I'll let him suffer. And my parents, too, for making us move here."

"It's not so bad here," said Miley softly and Lilly reprimanded herself again for insulting the town.

She watched the girl's face for a few seconds, before she smiled. "I'm starting to think it has its merits."

Lilly blushed immediately. She couldn't believe how stupid she was being, flirting with a random girl in redneck country. But Miley merely grinned at her, either not seeing the flirting for what it was, or not caring. Lilly didn't know which she preferred, but before she could make a further fool of herself, Edna was bringing out her food. She took the plate, reluctant to return to her family, but she couldn't very well sit here and eat her food away from them. She tried to suppress a sigh.

"Well, thank you, Miley Ray, for your lovely Southern hospitality." Lilly almost felt like she should have been tipping a hat at the girl while she said it.

Miley inclined her head, smiling. "You're welcome, Lilly from California. I'm sure I'll see you around."

Lilly returned to the booth, to varying stares from her family members. She really didn't feel like getting into it with them, especially not when she still felt like she was floating from her conversation with Miley. She smiled in spite of herself and Michael snorted.

"You work fast, lil sis, we've only been here like an hour."

She rolled her eyes and decided to ignore him. She ate her Grilled Cheese in silence and had to suppress a smirk every time her obnoxious brother bit into his burger. When they got ready to leave half an hour later, Lilly looked at the bar, just to get one last look at Miley, but the girl was gone. Lilly hadn't even seen her leave.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

Lilly stood morosely in the hallway of her new school, watching the students mingling about and passing by. She'd hoped Michael at least would stick by her side in this unfamiliar environment, but he had seen a group of cheerleaders and gone after them like a stray puppy. She wondered if the Juniors here at Beauford County High were as immature as he. Lilly briefly hoped she'd see Miley here; she hadn't been able to get the girl out of her head since their meeting at the diner on Friday. The Truscotts had spent the weekend getting situated in their new house, though Lilly had multiple times considered sneaking out to go to the diner and hopefully catch another glimpse of her new friend. At least the furniture was getting delivered today and both Lilly and Michael had volunteered to start school instead of helping.

Lilly sighed and looked down at the class schedule in her hand. It wouldn't be too hard finding her classes in this place; her high school in Malibu had been five times the size of this. Nevertheless, she resented her parents for making her move with just over a month left in the school year. Another note held her locker number and combination and Lilly decided to go find that first. Someone stepped in her way and she looked up.

"Lilly, right?" The shaggy-haired boy suddenly in front of her grinned confidently, pointing both his index fingers at her.

Lilly narrowed her eyes. "How do you know my name?"

He laughed. "You're the only new girl in school since probably beginning of freshman year. Everyone knows who you are." Lilly rolled her eyes in annoyance. First Miley had known which house they were moving into, and now this kid was acting like they were best of friends.

He grinned again and Lilly decided she found the way he did it to be somewhat annoying. "I'm Oliver, but you can call me Smokin' Oaken."

"Uh, no thanks?"

His face fell somewhat, as if he'd fully expected her to be mesmerized by him. Oliver shrugged and leaned closer to look at her class schedule. "We got a lot of the same classes…I could show you around?"

He sounded a lot less egotistically since she'd shot him down and Lilly shrugged. He seemed nice enough and it couldn't hurt to have someone showing her the ropes. Of course, Lilly wished it were Miley doing so, but despite her best wishes she had not seen the girl. She nodded and Oliver smiled, a lot less annoying this time, and began walking next to her. He was going slow, as if he wanted to prolong their time together or show everyone he was talking to the new girl. Probably both, Lilly decided.

"So, Lilly, have you met anyone else here?" asked Oliver, trying to surreptitiously check out the blonde. She was pretty hot and he knew he had to make his move quickly before the jocks and pretty boys saw her. Though she hadn't seemed too interested in his lines earlier.

"Other than you, I met some girl named Miley the day we moved here. I haven't really been out much; we're still moving in," explained Lilly, wondering how she could stop him from checking her out.

Oliver suddenly stopped, his eyes widening almost comically. Lilly stopped as well, looking at him in confusion. The other students were merely walking around them and the crowd seemed to be thinning out somewhat. "Miley? You don't mean Miley Stewart, do you? I don't think there **is** another Miley."

Lilly shrugged, wondering why his voice sounded almost panicky. "I don't know her last name, we only talked for a few minutes. Brunette, blue eyes, pretty, probably around our age."

He made almost a strangled sound and grabbed Lilly's forearm. "You **talked** to her?"

"Uh…" Lilly didn't know what to say to that, unsure why the boy seemed so freaked out. Miley hadn't seemed horrible or anything, quite the opposite really. "Was I not supposed to?"

Oliver shook his head and looked around them, then ran a hand through his hair. "Look, you can't tell **anyone** here you talked to her, got that? Oh no, and now **I **talked to **you** after you talked to **her**." He seemed to descend further and further into madness, before rubbing a hand across his forehead. He began walking again abruptly and Lilly followed, completely confused.

Oliver grasped the classroom door handle. "I don't think it applies to you…I mean, you didn't **know**, right? That would be really unfair. Maybe we'll be fine…" He seemed to be talking mostly to himself and Lilly followed him into the classroom and took a seat next to Oliver in the back.

The boy turned to her again, his eyes intense. "Still, don't tell anyone." He turned away again and Lilly wanted to ask what the hell was going on and why he was having a panic attack over the fact she'd talked to Miley, when the teacher walked in. The blonde hardly listened all lesson, the only thing on her mind the burning question: What was wrong with Miley?

**xxx**

The sweat was running in rivulets down Lilly's back and she grimaced at how sticky she felt. Sick of the hospital-like cleaning her mother had begun at the house, Lilly had grabbed her skateboard and decided to explore the neighborhood a bit. Now she remembered why that was a bad idea. In fact, as she looked around, she realized she had no idea where she even was. Crowley Corners was tiny population wise, but there were plenty of farms and ranches that took up quite a bit of land and since everything sort of looked the same to her, navigation was going to be a problem.

The streets were basically empty, even though it was early afternoon and she rolled along slowly. Some familiar buildings came into view and Lilly stepped off her board, kicking it into her hand. The diner, or the 'The Die-ner' as Michael had taken to calling it after his two-day bout with gastrointestinal issues, was just across the road. Lilly was tempted to go inside, for two reasons. One, the air conditioning was quite tempting and she really wanted to cool off, and two, Miley. She hadn't seen the other girl in five days, not since their meeting on Lilly's first day and, after Oliver's near meltdown, Lilly had merely become more intrigued. Oliver hadn't offered her any answers, but Lilly had found out Miley did not go to school with them. He didn't know where Miley went and had made it quite clear to Lilly he did not want to know.

Lilly walked closer to the shoddy building, debating with herself. If Miley wasn't in there, she'd be stuck in the creepy diner alone. On the other hand, if Miley was in there and she didn't go in, she'd be mad at herself. Heaving a heavy sigh, Lilly wished for luck and entered the diner. Multiple pairs of eyes turned to look at her, but quickly lost interest. The same creepy guys were sitting at the bar, though Lilly did not pay them much mind. Her eyes scanned the bar for Miley and disappointment flooded through her when she didn't see the girl. She was about to turn and leave, when she spotted the brunette in the far booth to her right. Lilly grinned and walked over.

She slid into the booth across from Miley, trying to keep her excitement from showing too much. Miley was deeply engrossed in her shredded napkin mountain and looked up when Lilly sat down. Miley seemed quite surprised to see her at first, but it was as if she caught herself and smiled, eyes sparkling. "Lilly from California. Fancy meeting you here."

"Miley Ray, my Southern hospitality tour guide," said Lilly with a grin, unable to dial down the excitement flooding through her system. She did not understand why this girl was so exhilarating. Oliver's multiple warnings to stay away from Miley rang in her ears and she ignored them. She pointed at the mess in front of Miley. "You've got a real issue with napkins, huh?"

"Huh? Oh…" Miley grinned almost shyly, looking down at her pile. She shrugged. "Nervous habit, I guess. My hands just get fidgety when they have nothing to do."

Lilly nodded, understanding fully well. She, too, had a lot of nervous energy, the main reason she used to surf and skateboard all the time. Miley noticed her skateboard and motioned at it. "Are you any good?"

"Good enough, I guess." Lilly shrugged, not one to extol her own virtues. She'd won multiple skating competitions back in California, though it was unlikely she'd find anything similar in this place. "Do you skate?"

Miley shook her head. "Nah, that's an accident waiting to happen." When she looked up to meet Lilly's eyes, the blonde could see that sadness in them again and wondered what it was about. Miley was intriguing, but she wondered why the kids at her school seemed to think she was dangerous to talk to. Maybe she was in the mafia or something. Lilly snorted out loud at the thought.

Miley gave her a weird look. "What's so funny?"

"You're not in the mafia, are you?" asked Lilly, not sure where her idiocy was coming from. Miley seemed not to mind regardless, merely giving her an odd look.

"Not that I know of, no."

A waitress came up to their table and Lilly looked up. The woman sighed somewhat exasperatedly as she saw Miley's pile of napkin. "Miley, could you please stop destroying the inventory?" The girl smiled sheepishly, not looking at the woman. "Now, does your friend want to order something?"

Lilly's eyes widened slightly; she hadn't even thought about the fact that she'd come into a business, where it was customary to order things. Her plan hadn't really gone beyond finding out if Miley was there. "Oh…uh…I didn't really bring any money…"

Miley met Lilly's eyes across from her. "Don't worry about it."

Lilly wanted to protest; she knew she very likely got a lot more in allowance than most kids in Crowley Corners and she didn't want Miley to waste what money she had. But the other girl seemed not to care and looked at the waitress, "She'll have a Coke. Oh, and can we get some fries?"

"You want a refill, too, hun?" asked the woman, pointing at Miley's empty glass.

"Yes, ma'am." Miley grinned toothily at the waitress and Lilly thought for the first time the girl's face seemed completely uninhibited. It made her wonder what Miley was trying to hide from her and whether she should've taken Oliver's warning to heart. Once the waitress left, Lilly looked at the other girl.

"Thanks, but you didn't have to do that, you know," said Lilly, feeling a bit guilty that here this girl was being nothing but nice to her and she was wondering if Miley was evil incarnate.

Miley rested both her elbows on the table and leaned closer, conspiratorially. "Well, I kinda got a secret."

Lilly's eyebrows rose almost imperceptibly. Was Miley finally going to tell her what was going on? Would this solve the mystery? She leaned closer herself, spellbound as she met Miley's eyes. They were so incredibly blue she thought she might drown. She urged her friend to continue with a nod of her head. They were so close now, maybe only a foot separated them and Lilly held her breath. Her heart was thundering already, though she couldn't say whether it was from being so close to beautiful Miley or from being so close to finding out the big mystery.

Miley looked completely serious, but then her façade broke and she smirked. "I eat for free."

Lilly tried not to let the disappointment show and leaned back slightly. She had not been expecting that, hadn't seen how Miley was clearly playing around. She cursed herself for even falling into whatever trap Oliver had set. Maybe they were all trying to mess with her, but Miley didn't seem like she would do that. She shook her head, trying to think of something to say. She didn't want Miley to know what she'd really been thinking. "I've never seen you eat."

Miley shrugged. "Yeah, well, the food sucks."

Lilly felt like a complete fool and tried to shake the last vestiges of nervousness. She'd been so sure Miley was going to tell her a big, dark secret. Lilly did not like feeling like she was in the dark. Miley, though, had been nothing but nice and playful and Lilly resolved herself to forget whatever stupid stories anyone else told her. She leaned closer again.

"Free food, huh? So, you **are** in the mafia?"

"Something like that. My mom works here," explained Miley. Things made a lot more sense now to Lilly; she hadn't seen many teenaged girls hanging out in diners for fun.

The waitress from before came back with their drinks and fries and Lilly looked at her more closely. Brunette hair, blue eyes – she wondered if this was Miley's mom. The waitress set everything in front of them and brushed her hand briefly across the top of Miley's head, "Here you go, sweet pea." Yeah, definitely her mother, Lilly thought.

Miley looked up. "Thanks. Hey momma, I want you to meet my new friend, Lilly. She's from California. Lilly, this is my mom."

Lilly had always hated meeting parents and somehow this was a thousand times more awkward. She nevertheless said 'hello' and 'ma'am' like the good girl she was. She realized with a start that if her mother worked at a diner, it would be the absolute last place she'd ever be seen and she most certainly wouldn't introduce new or old friends to the woman while in that diner's uniform. She wondered why Miley didn't care.

"A new friend, huh? Well, it's nice to meet you, Lilly," said the woman and though she was smiling, Lilly could tell it wasn't completely sincere. She seemed apprehensive, mistrusting and Lilly almost felt like she was being given a once-over. She walked away after a few moments and Lilly turned to Miley, to see if anything on her face showed how odd her mother's behavior had been.

Miley was busy squirting huge amounts of Tabasco sauce onto the plate of fries. She smothered one completely, before sticking it in her mouth, the look on her face almost ecstatic. Lilly grinned, "Do you need a moment?"

"There is nothing quite like Tabasco, Lilly. I put it on just about everything. Drives my mom wild." More Tabasco-drenched fries made it into her mouth.

Lilly reached for the plate and picked up her own soaked fries. She'd never really been a fan of hot foods, but she wasn't going to pass up sharing fries with her new friend. She hesitantly put them in her mouth and her eyes widened at the taste. Despite Miley's earlier statement about the food and Lilly's apprehension, the fries were amazing. She quickly ate a few more and together they'd nearly emptied the whole plate within minutes. Miley was watching her, smiling.

"So, you like my fries and Tabasco?"

"You mean 'Tabasco and fries', right? But I have to admit, they were amazing," said Lilly, stealing the last fry off the plate.

Miley folded her arms, face serious. "I think we'll be good friends, Lilly from California."

Lilly didn't know what to say to that, but deep inside, she felt it, too. She had never met anyone like Miley before and she was dying to find out everything about this girl. She smiled and Miley returned it in full. Lilly couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so silly. One look at the clock, however, told her she wouldn't have another time like this for a while if she didn't make it home within the next half hour. Unfortunately, she still had no idea how she'd gotten where she was. Miley noticed the look on her face.

"You gotta go?" Her voice was almost sad and it made Lilly feel good knowing she wasn't the only one feeling this way.

"Mom's got very strict dinner times that must be adhered to under penalty of severe grounding. Now if only I can find my way back home," she said morosely. She wasn't quite sure whether she was fishing for help from Miley. She didn't want to leave her just yet.

Miley seemed unsure, like she knew exactly what Lilly was asking for and either didn't want to, or couldn't meet her request. Lilly suddenly felt stupid again. Miley shrugged. "I could maybe walk you home. It's not that far. I have to ask my mom, though…she doesn't really want me going out into town."

Lilly briefly looked out the windows, but there was literally nothing around. "Is there some crime problem in Crowley I don't know about?"

Maybe Miley was merely making excuses for not wanting to go with her, but when she looked at the girl's face, she almost seemed nervous. Lilly had no intentions of making her uncomfortable or getting the girl in trouble with her mother. She was just about to say she could find her own way back, when Miley bit her lower lip and slid out of the booth, "I'll go ask her."

It was several minutes before she returned and though she smiled at Lilly as if in triumph, the blonde could tell she wasn't happy. Lilly wondered what her mother had said to her and, more importantly, why her teenaged daughter couldn't walk the streets of Middle-of-Nowhere, TN by herself. Nevertheless, she grabbed her skateboard and followed Miley to the door – she wasn't about to turn down help she clearly needed.

As they got to the door, Lilly thought she felt eyes on her. She turned her head. Miley's mom was standing behind the bar, watching her with an unreadable expression. Lilly wondered what was going on. She did not acknowledge the woman, instead following Miley out into the oppressive heat.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Lilly stole a glance at the girl by her side. She was incredibly excited and this time the sweltering heat hardly bothered her. She'd been bored out of her mind at home, grudgingly helping her mom rearrange the furniture for the fifth time, when Miley had shown up out of the blue. Her mother had been happy enough that Lilly had already found a friend and let her go with Miley. Together they were walking along a dirt path, past a meadow and though it was quite nice, Lilly wondered where the girl was taking her. Miley had been strangely silent so far, though the look on her face was happy and relaxed. It put Lilly at ease – at least she didn't think Miley was taking her into the woods to murder her.

"Where are we going?" asked Lilly, looking at her companion. Miley's long hair fell in waves down her back and Lilly wanted to run her fingers through it. She resisted the urge, just as she resisted all her urges when it came to Miley.

"I'm showing you the sights," said Miley happily, swinging her arms. Lilly found her happiness to be contagious and couldn't help but grin. Though in reality, she felt herself smile a lot around the other girl. Maybe it was that army of butterflies marching through her stomach every time she looked at Miley. Maybe it was the way her heart skipped beats when Miley smiled.

"Where are these sights?"

Miley spread her arms, grinning. "This, right here."

Lilly smiled wryly. "So you're saying Crowley Corners is a whole lotta nothing?"

Miley elbowed her slightly and it made Lilly's insides churn. Why couldn't she keep her stupid hormones in check? Miley was incredibly nice and here she was ruining it by having less than pure thoughts about her. Suddenly, Miley grabbed Lilly's hand and pulled her into the thicket. There was a small, beaten path, but Lilly never would have seen it walking by. Miley was still pulling her by the hand and Lilly swallowed hard, trying to concentrate on where they were going. Miley's hand was warm and soft and perfect. After a little while they stopped on the edge of a small cliff. Lilly looked down tentatively. There was a small lake just below, connected on two sides to a creek that vanished in the woods. A few kids seemed to be swimming down below.

"This is the creek; everyone goes swimming here in the summer. Some people like to jump off this cliff," said Miley and her voice sounded almost wistful. Lilly looked around them. The trees and brush were thick up here and there was just enough space for a few people on the lip of the cliff. Below, next to the creek, there seemed to be a lot more space, not to mention, no deathly heights to fall from.

She raised an eyebrow. "Do **you** jump off the cliff?"

Miley merely grinned and shrugged, but Lilly knew she did. She just hoped she'd never have to see it – she was afraid of heights. "Why are we up here? Can't we go down where everyone else is?"

Miley shrugged, not meeting her eyes. "It's peaceful up here, no one to bother you." She finally looked up and she no longer looked happy like she had before. Lilly wished she hadn't asked. Miley bit her lip and Lilly had already figured out she did this when she wasn't sure what to do. "I can take you down there if you want."

Lilly had also figured out whenever Miley seemed to be torn over something, she always acquiesced to what Lilly wanted. She shook her head and sat in the dirt, though a safe distance away from the edge of the cliff. Miley smiled, relief clearly evident on her face, and sat next to Lilly. A slight breeze ruffled their hair and up here, in the shade, it was quite nice. Lilly took a deep breath of the air and closed her eyes. It really **was** peaceful up here.

When she opened her eyes again, she found Miley staring at her. Her gaze was intense and she didn't even look away when Lilly met her eyes. Miley merely smiled, as if staring was completely normal.

"You're really pretty, Lilly."

Lilly nearly choked. Was Miley checking her out or was that just wishful thinking? So far Miley had given no signs she was gay. Miley was still smiling, her head resting sideways on her drawn-up knees. Lilly's insides were mush, her brain was melting. She swallowed hard. "Uh, thanks."

She wanted to say something about how beautiful Miley was, about how her heart raced when the girl was near, but the words wouldn't come. Miley was already looking away and Lilly wanted to kick herself. She'd had the perfect opportunity and she'd blown it. Thunder rolled in the distance and Lilly looked out across the tree line. Something tugged on her arm and she looked at Miley, getting up. The girl's face was pale and Lilly frowned.

"We gotta go, right now." She had never heard Miley's voice like that. She normally always sounded a bit teasing, happy, even if her eyes were sad, but now it almost sounded scared. Lilly didn't know what to think, but let herself be pulled up regardless.

"What's wrong?" Thunder sounded again, far away, and Lilly could've sworn she saw her friend flinch. Miley grabbed her hand again and practically dragged her out of the woods, back to the dirt path.

"Let's just go. Is it okay if we go to my place? It's closer. Or I can walk you back to your place if you want." Miley was biting her lip again, but Lilly could easily tell how nervous the girl suddenly was. Miley's palm was sweaty.

She shrugged. "Your place is fine."

Miley seemed relieved, again, and took off along the path. It wound around the tree line and sloped downwards. Open land was all there was before them. Miley was walking briskly and though Lilly had no problem keeping up, she wondered why. It thundered again and Lilly thought she felt the first rain drop. Miley picked up her pace. She kept glancing at her worriedly and Lilly wanted to reassure her. She didn't mind a little bit of rain.

Miley took a sudden left and pulled Lilly through the trees, until they broke through on the other side. There was a paved road, but no cars were in sight. Miley crossed it and climbed the low fence on the other side. Lilly looked at her skeptically. Miley managed her first smile in what seemed like forever.

"It's alright; it's my grandma's land. Come on."

Lilly didn't need the help, but took Miley's hand anyway to get off the fence. The pasture they were on seemed endless, though Lilly thought she saw some buildings off in the distance. More raindrops landed on them and Miley started running. Lilly kept up easily and soon they were close enough for Lilly to see the buildings. Miley slowed down slightly, out of breath, and the way her chest rose and fell rhythmically mesmerized Lilly. The rain picked up and Miley tugged on her arm urgently.

Trees dotted the area where the buildings stood, but as they got closer Lilly noticed that where the main building should have been was merely a construction site. A barn sat just off to the side, though its entire front and side were charcoal black, as if it had fought off a fire. She wanted to ask what had happened, but Miley pulled her past the buildings without a word and towards a much smaller one along the path. It looked a little like a cottage. They reached the front door just as the rain started in earnest. Miley pulled her through the door, laughing and Lilly looked at the girl. The panic from just minutes ago seemed to be gone.

Drops of water clung to Miley's hair and skin and Lilly almost reached out a hand to brush them away. A loud voice stopped her, however, and both girls turned where they stood in the entranceway. "Miley Ray Stewart, I have told you a **thousand** times not to go outside during a storm! Why do you have to defy me all the time?"

Miley's face fell and Lilly shifted nervously; she hadn't yet made up her mind about Miley's mom. Miley walked further into the room towards her mother, who grabbed her shoulders as if to shake her.

"It's fine, mom. I came home as soon as it started," said Miley defiantly. Her mother sighed and shook her head. It seemed as if she was about to say something else, but then noticed Lilly still in the entranceway. The woman stood straighter, letting go of Miley.

"Hello, Lilly, I didn't know you were here." Lilly couldn't tell by the woman's voice whether she thought her presence was a bad thing. She felt incredibly awkward and wished she'd asked Miley to go to her house instead. But that scared look in Miley's eyes had been her deciding factor. Had Miley been so scared because of what was to await her at home?

Lilly tried to push the thoughts aside. "Hello, Mrs. Stewart."

The woman smiled slightly and sighed again. Judging by her look she was not entirely thrilled with Lilly's presence, though Miley seemed to either not care or not notice. The girl returned to Lilly's side and grabbed her hand again. "We're gonna go to my room, momma."

"Alright, hun, but dinner's in an hour. Lilly, are you staying?"

Maybe the entire family was weird, Lilly decided. The woman clearly wasn't keen on Lilly hanging out with her daughter, but was inviting her for dinner nevertheless. Maybe it was a Southern thing. "I can't, my mom's very strict about family dinner time. Thank you, though."

Susan nodded. "Alright, well, once the rain clears Miley can drive you home."

Lilly managed a polite smile, but Miley was already dragging her to one of the closed doors off to the side. She shut the door behind them and Lilly looked around the room. It was very small, just big enough for a twin sized bed and a desk crammed against the opposite wall. She immediately noticed the various band and musician posters on the walls. A guitar sat in one corner. She motioned at it, "Do you play?"

Miley nodded, though her face was solemn, "Yeah, my daddy taught me how to play."

"Are you any good?"

This made Miley grin slightly. "My mom and grandma think so, but they have to say that." She shoved some clothes off the bed and motioned for Lilly to sit.

"Well, if you want, I'll be your judge. Then you'll know for sure." Lilly smiled and Miley sat down next to her. Considering the size of the bed, Miley did sit **right** next to her and their legs and arms were pressed together, making Lilly's breath hitch. She turned her head only to be met with Miley's staggering blue eyes. She could not help but be mesmerized by this girl. No one had ever affected her like this, with the stupid things she said and the nervousness and the excitement thrumming inside her body. But no one had ever been like Miley and Lilly doubted anyone ever would be again. Now if only she could figure out the mystery this girl was.

She averted her eyes, unable to stand the intensity any longer. Her eyes scanned across the room and landed on the desk. She noticed multiple schoolbooks and remembered Miley didn't go to Beauford County High. "Hey Miley, what school do you go to? I haven't seen you at County."

Miley bounced a little on her bed, following Lilly's gaze to her books. "Oh, I'm home schooled."

Another thing to add to my list of things that don't add up, Lilly thought. Miley didn't seem sick and her family didn't appear to be crazy religious fundamentalists, and those were the only people she'd ever seen home schooled. "That must be fun, not having to deal with teachers and rules all day?"

Miley grinned sheepishly. "My grandma will skin my hide if I don't do my work. She mostly teaches me, or my mom when she's not working. Sometimes they'll get a tutor for some subjects they're not real familiar with. It's alright, I guess."

Lilly couldn't imagine being home schooled, having to be around her mother all day, stuck inside the house. She shook her head, "Doesn't it get lonely? I mean, just doing school work by yourself?"

Miley shrugged as if she hadn't thought about it, but Lilly could tell by her face she had. "I like being by myself."

"Then what are you doing with me?"

Miley smiled. "I like being with you more."

The statement was innocent, but so sincere Lilly felt a lump in her throat. Without thinking, she reached for Miley's hand between them and clasped it tightly. Realizing what she was doing, Lilly almost pulled back, but Miley merely smiled brighter. Lilly relaxed, returning the smile. They were silent for a while, just staring into each other's eyes, then Miley looked away.

"The rain stopped. I better take you home."

Lilly followed her gaze to the window behind them. Rays of sunshine were breaking through and she sighed. She didn't want to move, ever. Nevertheless, she followed Miley out of the house.

"You have a car?" She doubted it, judging by the tiny space the girl lived in.

"We just have my grandma's old truck. It's older than me, but still runs. Hop on in," said Miley as they approached the vehicle.

Lilly looked at it skeptically, wondering whether she wasn't safer just walking home. But the grin on Miley's face and the gleam in her eyes wouldn't allow her to leave. She got into the truck and they pulled away. Lilly couldn't take her eyes off Miley the entire drive back to her house.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

.

"Ooh, mystery meat. Bad choice, my friend."

Lilly looked up at Oliver with a half-hearted shrug. He sat down across from her at the table, followed by one of his only two friends, Sarah. Though several people had tried to 'recruit' her as she thought of it, Lilly had decided to just stick with Oliver – once she'd explained to him she wasn't interested he'd calmed down a lot. He was actually a pretty nice guy and Sarah was alright, too, if a bit kooky.

"So, Lilly, I was wondering if you wanted to come hang out with us on Saturday?" asked Oliver, mouth full of mashed potatoes.

Lilly tried not to let her lack of enthusiasm show. In all honesty, she'd hoped maybe Miley would come by again and they could spend the day together. But she had no way to contact her mysterious friend, nor could she remember where exactly the girl lived. And as much as she wanted to, there was no way she'd spend all of her Saturday sitting inside, waiting for the possibility Miley might show up. So she nodded, even plastering a weak smile on her face.

"Cool. If it's nice, we're going to the creek. It's this awesome place to swim and hang out."

"Yeah, I've been there," said Lilly, digging in her food.

Oliver looked surprised. "You have? How'd you find it?"

"Miley showed me." Only too late did Lilly realize she probably shouldn't have mentioned that part. She could've come up with some lie, anything to avoid the wide-eyed, panicked looks from her companions.

"Miley?" said Sarah, voice louder and more forceful than Lilly had ever heard her.

Oliver made an angry noise. "You're still hanging out with her? I thought I told you to stop?"

Lilly scoffed, annoyance flaring inside of her. "I'm sorry, I must've missed the part where you became my **mom**."

Sarah shook her head as if breaking out of a stupor and put a hand on Lilly's arm. "Lilly, you just don't understand."

"**What** don't I understand?"

"Miley is…she's…just stay away from her, okay?"

The way they were talking made Lilly briefly wonder if Miley was gay and they were shunning the girl. She pulled her arm away. "Why do you guys hate her so much?"

"We don't hate her, it's…" Oliver started, wiping the palms of his hands on his pants. He was nervous and Sarah, too, looked more worried than angry.

Lilly looked at them, confused. "You're scared of her?"

Oliver and Sarah met each other's eyes, before turning back to Lilly. "It'd be better if you stayed far away from her."

"What are you scared of? She's just a girl."

Oliver scoffed and shook his head. Sarah looked imploringly at Lilly. "Just…trust us, okay?"

They turned their attention back to their food, effectively ending the conversation. Lilly sat in stunned silence, too confused and angry to eat. What had Miley done to them to make them act like this? She remembered Oliver's words from her first day, warning her not to tell anyone else she'd spoken to Miley. Was everyone else afraid of her, too? And why? Lilly wanted answers and she was not getting them.

**xxx**

"Miley!"

The brunette turned, face almost apprehensive, until she saw Lilly skating towards her. Miley grinned at her friend as she jumped off the skateboard next to her. Lilly felt her heart racing and it had nothing to do with skating. Miley's hair was up in a loose bun and the light wind was pushing strands of it into her face. A lollipop was in her mouth and her eyes sparkled with excitement. She looked absolutely adorable and Lilly wanted nothing more than to be able to kiss her.

"Hi there, Lilly. Where ya going?" asked Miley, her smile infectious.

Slightly emboldened by her conversation with Sarah and Oliver the other day, Lilly wanted to prove Miley was not scary. "I heard there are some places in the park people use to skate. I was gonna go check it out. Wanna come with?"

Miley popped the lollipop out of her mouth and shook her head. "I can't. I gotta get home; I'm in trouble. Double trouble."

She grinned at the last part, but Lilly looked at her slightly apprehensively. "What did you do?"

Miley shrugged. "I'm grounded and I snuck out to get some candy."

"Why are you grounded?"

Miley smiled, mischief clearly evident on her face. "I was messin' with the chickens."

Lilly raised an eyebrow at that, not understanding. Then again, she thought, if she were home schooled, she might have to resort to playing tricks on the chickens for entertainment. "Maybe your mom won't notice you were gone?"

"She'll know," said Miley then sighed heavily. "Momma's gonna be mad when she finds out I went into town by myself. Oh well, it was worth it. I got to see you."

She grinned at her and Lilly couldn't help but return it, though part of her was still worried and confused. "Miley, how old are you?"

"How old do you think I am?"

Lilly rolled her eyes in exasperation, though in all honesty, it had been a valid question. She'd briefly wondered whether Miley was afflicted with whatever condition Robin Williams had in that movie where he looked thirty but was twelve; she couldn't see any other reason a mother would prohibit a teenager from going into a town where nothing happened on her own. Then she'd realized how ridiculous that was.

Miley relented. "I'm sixteen. How old are you?"

"I'll be seventeen in a month."

Miley's eyes lit up. "I better think of a good present for you then."

Lilly felt suddenly uncomfortable; she could tell the girl had no money. "You don't have to do that. I'm sure I'll be having a party; I'll be happy if you just show up."

Miley's smile fell slightly and she averted her eyes. Lilly realized with a sinking feeling that it was unlikely anyone from her school would attend her party if Miley were there. And it seemed that Miley knew it, too. Lilly wanted to apologize, but she didn't even know **what** she would be apologizing for. She really needed some answers.

"Miley, can I ask you something?" said Lilly, suddenly nervous. She just couldn't deal with being in the dark anymore.

Blue eyes met hers and Miley nodded. Lilly noticed the girl was biting her lower lip and hesitated. It was written clear as day on Miley's face – she knew what Lilly wanted to ask and she did not want to answer. Lilly had a feeling Miley would answer anyway. She suddenly felt bad. She didn't want to make the girl do something she was clearly uncomfortable with. Lilly swallowed hard.

"Can I have your phone number? I mean, I'm getting kinda tired of skating around town all day hoping to run into you. This way I could just call you." They both knew it wasn't what she had planned on asking, but there was no way Lilly would do anything to make that beautiful smile vanish.

And Miley did smile, turning Lilly into mush again. She nodded though, and Lilly pulled out her cell phone to program in the number Miley dictated to her. "I don't have anything to write with…I'll give you mine next time. Is this your cell number?"

"Nah, mom says I don't need one, since I'm home schooled and all. We just have the house phone. Don't tell anyone I gave you the number though, mom doesn't like me giving it out."

Lilly stared at her somewhat dumbfounded for a second, before catching herself. "Uh Miley, you do realize your mom will know you gave me your number when I call, right?"

Miley snorted. "Good point. Oh well, it's fine."

Lilly wasn't sure that it was and wondered if she'd ever get up the nerve to call Miley now. Miley suddenly stopped and Lilly realized for the first time they'd been walking. How could she get so caught up in one person she didn't even notice her surroundings?

"This is the turn to my grandma's farm. The park's that way," said Miley, pointing to her left. She smiled. "Thanks for walking with me, Lilly."

"The pleasure was all mine," said Lilly and winked, then blushed immediately. When had she gotten so cheesy and idiotic?

Miley just laughed. "Goodbye, Lilly from California." She took the lollipop from her mouth and darted forward to leave a sticky, sweet kiss on Lilly's cheek. Miley gave her one last grin, before turning down the road towards her house.

Lilly watched her go in stunned silence. Why was this girl so impossible to figure out? And how could anyone expect her to stay away when Miley made her heart flutter and her limbs go weak and her brain turn to mush? With a sigh, Lilly got back on her skateboard to make her way to the park.

**xxx**

Lilly stood in line, trying not to get annoyed. Her mother had forced her to come along for groceries and now here she was, stuck behind two middle-aged women who had nothing better to do than hold up the entire line with their gossip. She had never seen anyone scan groceries as slowly as the woman at the register, too busy chatting with her friend to really pay attention. Even worse, Lilly's mother seemed to not care one bit, as if she had already gotten used to the slow-paced way of life in this town. Lilly had half a mind to tell the ladies to hurry it up, when she heard something that made her listen more closely.

"Mable, did I tell you Miley Stewart came in the other day?" said the woman at the register, lowering her voice as if she was telling a big secret.

The other woman, Mable, gaped at her, almost drawing back at her words. "No! You let her in?"

The cashier nodded importantly, clearly enjoying the attention she was receiving. "Well, I had to, she was buying. You know George would skin my hide if he knew I was turnin' away payin' customers. He says he don't believe in all that nonsense."

Mable looked almost outraged. "Nonsense? You don't have to be some kind of special to know something ain't right. It would serve old George right, if somethin' were to happen to his store...allowing that girl in here."

The cashier's eyes almost gleamed in excitement, as if she couldn't wait to share more. "Oh, last night the power went out…we had to throw out all the frozen food this morning."

Mable gasped, putting a hand to her chest. She seemed to compose herself and shook her head. "It just ain't right; someone oughta do something."

"I heard she ain't supposed to come into town; her momma and grandma watch that girl like hawks, but she just don't listen to nobody'!"

Mable heaved a sigh, "I don't know how they do it, stayin' out there with her all alone…after everything that's happened. Lord knows, if that were my daughter…if I'd lost my husband and son like that…I woulda left, never came back."

Lilly gasped at the woman's words and both of them turned to her, giving her evil looks as if she was impossibly rude for listening in. The cashier finally rang up her friend's purchases and Lilly stacked their items on the conveyor absentmindedly. Her thoughts were jumbled and she was even more confused than before. It wasn't just the kids at her school that seemed to dislike and even fear Miley, but grown adults talked about her like she was the plague. Lilly thought about the women's words. It sounded as if Miley's father and brother had died and the thought of her friend having to go through that pained her. Why would these people shun a girl who'd suffered a great tragedy? Why did they talk about her like she was something to be feared?

Lilly had half a mind to ask the cashier, but she was too angry with the woman for saying such horrible things about her friend. Miley had been nothing but nice to Lilly and she about to turn her back on the girl just because some people were obviously crazy. But she was going to get to the bottom of this.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

.

Lilly stretched out on her towel, trying to get as much sun as possible. Tall, thick trees surrounded the creek and thus the amount of sunlight filtering through was minimal. Yelling and splashing could be heard in the distance and she sighed. She hadn't really wanted to come, though she really enjoyed the outdoors and the cool water. But Lilly had spent the past few days thinking almost non-stop about Miley and that kiss on the cheek. She'd paced for a good hour, warring with herself over calling, and had finally given in and dialed the girl's super-secret number. The conversation hadn't gone as expected and she frowned, thinking back to this morning.

"Uh, hi, is Miley there?" asked Lilly, even more nervous now that someone other than Miley had answered.

"Who is this?" asked the woman on the other end, sounding skeptical and worried. Her voice sounded too old to be Miley's mom and Lilly figured it was her grandma.

"I'm Lilly, Miley's friend." She hoped Miley had mentioned her and this wouldn't continue being this awkward. But the woman on the other end was silent. Lilly's nervousness increased, "Miley gave me this number, she said it'd be okay for me to call. I wasn't trying to get her in trouble or anything…I just wanted to see if she'd like to hang out."

"Look," the woman's voice didn't sound quite as hostile as before, "it's probably best you don't call here again. Miley's grounded; she's not allowed to go outside."

Before she'd had a chance to say or ask anything else, the woman had hung up. Lilly had wondered for the thousandth time what in the world was going on. She had almost figured Miley would still be grounded; she knew if she snuck out while being grounded, she'd probably never leave the house again. But Lilly couldn't understand why the girl's family was acting so strange.

"Hey, Lilly, come on, we need one more person to play chicken," yelled Oliver, pulling her out of her stupor.

She almost said 'no', but the pleading look in his eyes made her reconsider. Did people honestly still play chicken? In Malibu, they'd spent their time in the water on surfboards or boogie boards or at the very least throwing around a football. She followed him into the water, where some other people were obviously waiting for them. The water was cool and clear and felt excellent against her heated skin. Lilly climbed on the shoulders of some boy she didn't know and they were soon embroiled in all out war.

Lilly was much stronger than most her opponents and easily knocked them into the water. She was admittedly having some fun, but after a straight twenty minutes of shoving shrieking girls into the water, she'd had enough. She let Sarah land a hit to her shoulder and went with the blow to land in the water. She hadn't even realized she'd dried off completely until the water enveloped her. Lilly floated on her back, staring up at the tree branches and the sunlight filtering through. It truly was a beautiful place and she just wished she could share it with the one person she actually wanted to.

Her eyes strafed the tall rock wall off to the other side. Something caught her eye and she stood upright in the water, looking up at the cliff. She could have sworn she saw a figure up on the cliff, but it was gone. Excitement bubbled inside of her and she swiftly climbed out of the creek, yelling at her friends that she'd be right back. They hardly noticed her and Lilly grabbed her towel and shirt off the ground, slipping her feet into her sneakers hastily. She'd worn her board shorts today and she was grateful; it would be a little uncomfortable traipsing about the woods in practically nothing.

She had no idea how to get up to the cliff from this side and walked along the creek until the hill seemed to level off somewhat. Lilly quickly crossed the creek, jumping on some stones, though her sneakers got wet regardless. She scrambled up the incline and walked back to where she'd come from, the hill increasing in height with each step. The trees and brush were getting thicker and soon she had to practically fight her way through. She had no idea where she was and all too suddenly she broke through onto the plateau she'd been at with Miley. Lilly squeaked when she saw how close to the edge of the cliff she was. She heard laughter.

"And here I thought it was a drunken raccoon coming to get me."

Lilly looked up and smiled when she saw Miley. The girl was standing on the other side of the cliff and though she appeared casual now, Lilly could tell she'd been worried. For one, there was a knife in her hand. She flipped it shut and grinned. Lilly felt slightly out of breath, partially from her mad dash up the hill and partially from seeing Miley.

"I thought I saw you up here. Aren't you grounded?" She hadn't meant to sound so accusatory, but she briefly wondered if Miley had asked her grandma to lie about being grounded so she wouldn't have to hang out.

Miley grinned again. "I am. Grandma is taking a nap and I escaped."

Lilly shook her head at the girl, but smiled nonetheless. Miley seemed to not care about anything and she was so quirky and spontaneous, it drew Lilly even further in. She spread her towel on the ground and sat, patting the spot beside her. Miley didn't hesitate, sitting right beside her though there was plenty of space.

"So, is that your boyfriend?"

Lilly looked at Miley, confused. Hadn't they been flirting for a few weeks now? Maybe that kiss on the cheek **had** been totally innocent. "Who?"

"That guy who had his head between your legs," said Miley simply and Lilly nearly choked. Miley laughed at her obvious discomfort and Lilly boxed her in the side.

She shook her head. "I'm not exactly in the market for a boyfriend. I'm gay."

Lilly tried to gauge Miley's reaction, but other than a few times where she'd seemed sad, she never wore a look other than one of mirth and mischief. Miley grinned at her, "Not a lot of gay people in this town."

"That's what I figured," said Lilly, waiting for Miley to make some kind of comment about this. Even people that were okay with her sexual orientation normally had to say **something** about it, even if it was just to let her know how tolerant they were. Miley hadn't even batted an eye, nor had she given any indication to her own preferences.

Lilly figured she'd have to dig. "So, what about you? Any boyfriends?"

Miley's smile faltered slightly and she looked down at the ground. "I'm not exactly…girlfriend material."

Lilly didn't know what that meant exactly, but judging by how everyone talked about the girl, she had an idea. "So, you've never been on a date before?"

Miley shrugged, still looking down. She'd flipped open her knife again and was drawing the tip through the dirt at her feet. "Once…didn't work out."

The girl sounded so calm and resolved about everything, Lilly didn't know what to say. Silence fell over them, though it was in no way uncomfortable. Lilly wasn't sure she **could** be uncomfortable around Miley. She watched the girl flip the blade shut, before opening it again with a flick of her wrist. She repeated the action multiple times, before she spoke again.

"This was my daddy's knife. He said I'd put it to much better use than him when he gave it to me." Miley's voice was soft, but not as sad as Lilly might have expected.

Lilly swallowed. "I heard your dad died, is that true?"

Miley stopped her movements and finally met Lilly's eyes again. She nodded. "Yeah, my daddy and my older brother died in a car crash a little over a year ago."

Lilly felt a horrible sadness wash over her at the girl's words; she couldn't imagine losing both her father and brother and then being this okay, this happy after. She knew Miley was an incredible person and wanted nothing more than to get to know her better. "Wow, I'm sorry…that must have been rough."

"It was. We were all really close," said Miley, but then smiled as if those bad memories hardly affected her, "but I still got my mom and my grandma and they love me a ton."

They sat, watching the sun move across the horizon and Lilly wondered whether Oliver and Sarah had noticed she was gone. She certainly didn't want to leave Miley to return to them. She sighed and stretched out her legs, resting her weight on her arms behind her. She'd thrown her t-shirt back on, but both it and her board shorts were still wet and it felt nice in the afternoon heat. A warm breeze brushed across her and Lilly sighed contently, lying back onto the ground. She stretched her arms out wide and closed her eyes, enjoying the fresh air and most of all, the company.

Lilly almost jumped when she felt the warm body pressing against her side and the head come to rest just below her breasts. She swallowed hard, opening her eyes and lifting her head. Miley was curled up next to her, her head bedded on Lilly's stomach as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Lilly had no idea what she was supposed to do, or say, and her heart merely thundered in her chest. Her hand itched to touch Miley's head where it lay, but she wasn't sure if it would be okay. Of course, Lilly reasoned, Miley had just plopped down practically on top of her without ever asking if she minded.

Lilly brought up her left arm and tentatively ran a hand up the girl's back. Miley was incredibly warm and her heat radiated to Lilly. She brushed her fingertips lightly across Miley's exposed neck and the girl laughed. It sent vibrations straight through Lilly's body, from her head down to her toes, and everything between. She suddenly realized Miley's proximity to some very sensitive regions. Miley's hand played with the tie of Lilly's board shorts and she had to suppress a groan. What was that girl trying to do to her?

Miley laughed again, cheek pressed tightly against Lilly's abdomen, "You're all wet." Lilly closed her eyes and let her head fall back, not even able to suppress the groan that time. You have no idea, she thought.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

** .**

Lilly was practically humming as she stepped out of her SUV. It was a nice day; cloudy, not too hot and, most importantly, it was Friday. Her parents were out on a date, and her brother was off with some of his new friends, leaving the whole house to Lilly alone. Finally she could watch TV by herself, or play her brother's Xbox or turn up the music really loud. The only way Lilly's night could get better would be if she'd get to spend it with Miley, but she was still, or again, grounded.

They hadn't seen each other since last Saturday at the creek and Lilly was starting to get antsy. She had no idea how Miley felt about her; the girl was just too hard to read to really make sense of her, admittedly very flirty, actions. Miley had snuck a call to Lilly during the week, to let her know her punishment had been extended. Apparently her wardens had also gotten wise to her tricks, as Lilly truly had not seen her around. She thought about fidgety, over-excited Miley stuck in that tiny cabin all week, without even school to give her a reprieve and frowned.

She pushed open the door to the diner, used to the way all patrons turned to look at the newcomer by now. Lilly was not a fan of cooking. Her parents had left her some money for food and, since the only pizza place in Crowley was awful, she'd decided to just get take-out from the diner. With Miley's help, she'd learned to navigate the few safe menu items quite effectively.

Lilly went up to the bar, but noticed someone sitting in what was normally Miley's booth and walked closer. She frowned as she stepped up to the table. The normally exuberant brunette had the hood from her sweatshirt drawn over her head, which was bedded on her arms resting on the table. There was no shredded napkin tower and the girl didn't move as Lilly approached. Lilly sat on the bench next to Miley and the girl's head jerked up. She looked utterly horrible, but gave Lilly a weak smile anyway.

"Hey there, cutie." Miley's eyes were glassy, her skin sweaty and pale, but she still managed to send Lilly's head into a spin.

Lilly forced the rising excitement at the flirtatious greeting aside, concentrating on the girl next to her. She did not hesitate to reach out a hand and feel the girl's forehead, though blushed as soon as she realized how forward she was being. Miley, as always, did not care.

"You're burning up, Miley. What's wrong?"

Miley shrugged half-heartedly. "Just a cold or something. I feel like road kill."

Lilly snorted. "How do you know what road kill feels like?" Miley merely shrugged again and Lilly shook her head. "Why are you even here? I thought you were grounded. And you should probably be in bed."

Miley grinned, though it was weak compared to her usual grins that lit up her entire face. "You want me in bed, Lilly?"

Lilly suppressed a groan. Was it even possible Miley was more flirty, impossible and confusing when she was sick? It took several more moments, before Miley actually answered her question. "Mom made me come, 'cause I'm grounded and grandma's in Murfreesboro buying her supplies. She's afraid I'll abscond again."

Lilly smiled, thinking of Miley the escape artist, but it faded again when she saw how miserable the girl was. A glass of water and a plate of fries sat in front of her untouched. Lilly knew Miley must really be feeling horrible if not even the prospect of hot-sauce drenched fries appealed to her. She rubbed a hand up and down the girl's back to comfort her without thinking, but suddenly Miley's head was on her shoulder. Lilly's hand was still on her back and with the way Miley was twisted into her, they were almost wrapped in an embrace. Lilly flushed, though she tried to tell herself it was merely from the extreme heat radiating off of the girl.

"You smell good," mumbled Miley against her neck and Lilly's breath hitched, feeling the girl's hot breath against her skin. She wouldn't fault anyone for saying strange things while having a fever, but she knew Miley would have said that regardless, and smiled.

Someone sat in the booth across from them and Lilly nearly jumped. Miley's mom did not look thrilled to see her and Lilly wondered whether it was merely her presence or her current compromising position that pissed the woman off. She didn't know what she'd done to make Miley's mom dislike her. The woman did not acknowledge her, however, instead looking at her daughter.

"How are you feeling, sweet pea?"

Miley made a sort of grunting noise against Lilly's neck, as if it were plenty of answer. Lilly decided, as much as Miley's mom intimidated her, she'd have to stick up for Miley; a smelly diner was no place to be when you were sick. "She said something about road kill."

A small smile graced the woman's lips and she shook her head. "Oh, Miley…look hun, there's no one to cover my shift. I can't leave for another two hours. Think you can stick it out?"

"Yeah," replied Miley, voice muffled; she had yet to move from her current position. Lilly felt annoyance bubble up inside of her at the woman's question. Couldn't she see Miley was really sick? Respecting your elders be damned, she thought.

"She's really burning up. She needs to be in bed," said Lilly, surprising herself with how stern her voice sounded.

Miley's mom was clearly clenching her jaw and Lilly momentarily regretted her outburst, but then the woman ran a hand across her face with a sigh. "Look, Lilly," said Miley's mom, making her name almost sound like a four-letter word. "I can't leave and I'm not letting Miley walk alone through town…when she's like this."

Lilly felt she had added the last part just to cover up the fact she didn't ever let her teenaged daughter walk through town alone. Lilly narrowed her eyes. She'd already gone way over the line; there was no reason to stop now. "I've got my mom's car, I'll drive her home."

"I've always wanted to ride in an SUV," said Miley wistfully from her position against Lilly's shoulder, as if an SUV were something to be revered.

Lilly couldn't help but snort at the comment, turning her eyes to the woman across from her. "See, she's delirious."

Miley's mom cracked another half-smile. "No, she's just being Miley." She sighed heavily. "Alright, you can drive her home, but I want you to leave right after. And Miley, you make sure you lock all the doors, alright, hun?"

Lilly frowned, but nodded nevertheless. This town seemed to be full of crazy, rude people and she couldn't figure out why. Except for Miley, of course, she thought. Miley was crazy in an endearing way. Lilly nudged her until she sat up, eyes bleary.

"Come on, road kill, I'm taking you home," said Lilly lightly and despite how sick she was, Miley seemed very excited by the prospect of a ride in the SUV. They got up and Lilly was already halfway to the door when she realized Miley wasn't behind her. She turned, only to see Miley in her mother's arms. The woman kissed the top of her daughter's head, before letting her follow Lilly.

Lilly took Miley's hand to lead her to the car, trying not to let the confusion show on her face. Miley's mom was obviously incredibly strict and controlling, to the point where Lilly would surely have hated her had it been her own mom, but in the blink of an eye she was lovingly hugging her sick daughter. Lilly did not understand and she wondered if whatever truth she had yet to find about Miley and the townspeople would shed light on her family, as well. She tried to figure out the mystery on the drive to Miley's place, but was too busy keeping the girl from fiddling with everything to even manage a clear thought.

**xxx**

"Miley, **what** are you doing?" yelled Lilly, almost panicking. She'd finally gotten the stubborn brunette into the house and to her room, despite Miley's insistence she should check on the chickens or climb the large tree outside. Lilly wanted to make sure the girl got into bed okay before she left, but now Miley was taking her clothes off.

"I can't get into my clean bed with smelly diner clothes on," said Miley, as if it were the most logical thing in the world.

Lilly was sitting on the edge of the bed, having a nervous meltdown. The sweatshirt and t-shirt were already gone and Miley was fumbling with the buttons on her jeans. Lilly wanted nothing more than to let her eyes wander across her friend's body, but it was wrong and she turned her head. No progress seemed to be made after several minutes and Lilly risked a glance. Lilly stood in shock, stepping up to Miley.

Bruises and small scars covered Miley's torso, all in different stages of healing. She seemed unconcerned at Lilly's proximity and the hand lightly tracing one of the bruises on her shoulder blade. Miley finally managed to undo her buttons and grinned triumphantly. She pulled her pants off, despite Lilly being right next to her, and tugged on some sweatpants. But Lilly only had eyes for the bruises and dread pooled in her stomach.

"Miley, how'd you get all those bruises?" asked Lilly softly and Miley looked at her weirdly.

Miley shrugged, glancing down at herself as if she'd forgotten they were even there. "I have no idea. Well, this one," she pointed at her shoulder, "I'm pretty sure was when I fell off that tree." She pointed at another one. "And that was probably when I jumped from the hayloft. Momma always says I'm not careful enough. She's always gotta patch me up…I don't think it's that bad."

Miley sounded so blasé about it and Lilly really wanted to believe her, but she couldn't help but be worried. Then Miley turned to grab a clean sweater and Lilly actually gasped when she saw her back. It was like nothing she had ever seen before.

The lines were faint, but visible against the girl's tanned skin. It looked like the roots of a tree; a thick line stretched from the right side of Miley's lower back, across her spine and upwards, branching out into more lines along the way that got smaller and thinner the more they split, like an array of blood vessels painted on her skin. Lilly almost reached out a hand to touch the skin, but Miley turned back around and pulled her sweater on. She saw the strange look on Lilly's face and frowned.

"What's wrong, Lilly?"

Lilly closed her mouth, realizing she probably looked ridiculous. "What **is** that…on your back?"

Miley looked confused for a moment then grinned, "I ate an acorn when I was little…"

Lilly rolled her eyes, but then remembered why she was even here. Miley still looked awful and Lilly gently pushed her onto the bed. Miley flashed her trademark grin and climbed under the covers. She wrapped them tightly around herself, shivering, but then sat up.

"Will you stay with me?" Her voice sounded so hopeful, Lilly didn't know what to say.

"I can't. Don't you remember what your mom said?"

Miley scrunched up her face. "No. Please, Lilly? She won't even notice."

Lilly sighed, knowing she might as well give in because there was no way she was leaving that totally adorable, pleading girl in bed alone. Miley obviously knew she'd won and pulled the covers back with a grin. Lilly kicked off her shoes and climbed in next to Miley, suddenly nervous about being in bed with a girl she hardly knew. Miley, having no such inhibitions, curled herself around Lilly, bedding her head on Lilly's shoulder.

Miley was soft, yet firm and so incredibly warm Lilly immediately felt sleepy. Her arm wrapped around the girl's shoulders subconsciously, but she couldn't deny that it felt so good to hold Miley. Her eyes drifted around the room, noticing the two picture frames on the desk for the first time. The first picture was of a man with long, dirty blonde hair, wearing a cowboy hat. He looked a lot like Miley and Lilly felt a pang. The second picture was of a blonde boy, making a goofy face. Lilly tightened her hold. She was going to lie here and hold Miley until she fell asleep and then she'd leave. Lilly didn't want Miley to get into even more trouble and she honestly didn't want another encounter with the girl's mom. But after a few minutes she, too, was fast asleep.

Lilly heard voices and sleepily blinked her eyes open. It was dark and it took her several moments to realize where she was. She almost jumped out of bed when she did, but Miley was still snuggled into her side, sleeping peacefully. They'd left the bedroom door open and she could see the light from the living room. Lilly's heart thundered. There was no way for her to escape now and chances were Miley's mom had seen her SUV outside anyway. She was doomed. The front door shut and she heard the voices again, quite clearly now. Lilly held her breath, knowing she shouldn't listen in, but she had no idea what else to do.

"…but Susan, surely you don't think it's **that** bad," said the woman Lilly suspected to be the grandmother.

"Mom, I said I was done talkin' about this. I'm not lettin' my little girl go through that again," said Miley's mom, clearly upset.

The older woman sighed,."Be reasonable, honey. Miley's got a mind of her own and what a mind it is. Did you know, when she snuck into town last week she went to George's store? The girl just won't listen."

"I know she did, no less than three people thought fit to mention it to me. If they had their way, she'd never leave the house. I'm telling you ma, this town is on the verge of a witch hunt."

The other woman made a clicking noise with her tongue. "Don't say things like that. Miley will be fine. Maybe having a little friend will keep her out of trouble."

Susan did not sound convinced. "Maybe her little friend **is** trouble. You remember that boy? Jake Ryan…that good for nothing little…"

"Hush now, just let it be. Now, go check on Miley." The older woman interrupted her and the voices stopped.

Lilly heard footsteps and before she had a chance to react, Miley's mom stood in the doorway, flicking a light switch in the hallway. She stared at the two girls, Miley snuggled against Lilly's side, her face expressionless. Lilly tried to think of something to say, to explain why she had defied instructions, but the woman beat her to it.

"How is she doing?"

"I uh…she's been sleeping. She doesn't feel as hot though."

Susan nodded, trying to keep her mother's words in mind as she looked at the two. Lilly shifted uncomfortably under her gaze and Miley awoke with her movement. She briefly lifted her head, smiling as she saw her mother in the doorway.

"Hi momma. I got to ride in Lilly's SUV; it's nice. Lilly's nice, too," said Miley simply, not even bothering to move and Lilly flushed bright red.

Susan smiled softly. "Okay, honey." She looked at Lilly, face unreadable. "Are you staying for dinner, Lilly?"

Lilly was at a loss for words. Did the woman hate her or not? It was impossible to tell and she figured being difficult must be a family trait. Her stomach growled loudly and she realized she'd never actually gotten her food from the diner. She was starving.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'. Half an hour," said Susan and turned around. Lilly leaned her head back against the headboard with a groan. She still had no idea what was going on and all the semi-information she kept getting only served to make her more curious. She thought to the conversation she had overheard and one thing in particular stood out – "this town is ready for a witch hunt". What could Miley possibly have done?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

.

Lilly smiled as she entered the diner, her eyes immediately on the booth in the far corner. Miley had been sick almost the entire week, and it was good to finally see her out. Lilly had missed her trademark grin and exuberance and her heartbeat quickened just knowing she'd finally get to talk to her again. She'd left Miley's house late last Friday, after a super awkward dinner where Grandma Ruby kept trying to get her to eat more, Susan kept staring and Miley spilled chicken soup all over her. It had been an interesting evening, to say the least, but one she was not keen to repeat. Miley's grandma was nice, but she, too, kept secrets Lilly could see in her eyes and Miley's mother was more overprotective and strict than anyone she'd ever seen.

"I see you're feeling better." Lilly sat on the bench opposite of Miley with a smile. Multiple plates and cups littered the table, all in various stages of being filled. Miley had been in the process of shoving a huge piece of pancake into her mouth when Lilly sat down. She grinned anyway.

"I feel great."

Lilly looked over the plates, eyebrows raised. There were the essential fries doused in Tabasco, as well as separate plates of bacon, hash browns, scrambled eggs and pancakes. Miley had them arrayed in a half-circle around herself, just within easy reach. She was wolfing down the food faster than Lilly thought possible. "Slow down, road kill, you'll choke."

Miley laughed and shook her head, "You sound like momma." She grabbed the bottle of Tabasco and dumped a healthy amount onto her pancake. Lilly pushed down the nausea and averted her eyes from the spectacle. Miley looked at her. "You want some?"

Lilly almost laughed at the serious look on the girl's face. "Uh no, I'm good."

Miley nodded, turning her attention back to her food. She ate the whole pancake in less than thirty seconds, shoving some hash browns after it for good measure. She looked back at Lilly, who was watching her with a look bordering on disbelief. "Grandma really liked you. She said I should invite you over for dinner again."

Lilly slowly met Miley's eyes, trying to think of a valid excuse. She would say 'yes' in a heartbeat if it were only Miley and her; she could even deal with grandma, but there was no way she could handle the trifecta again as she had last Friday. Miley's blue eyes were open and inviting, completely without guile or judgment and Lilly smiled.

"Sure, that'd be great," said Lilly and in a way she meant it. She loved being around Miley and perhaps spending more time with the girl's family would allow her to finally unravel the mystery.

Miley smiled sheepishly. "I won't spill my soup on you next time, either, I promise."

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

Miley reached for the Tabasco again, only to find it empty. She frowned then got up to grab another bottle from the bar. A hand shot out to grab her wrist and Miley turned to the older man sitting on one of the stools. He held her wrist in a vice-like grip, though did not look at her eyes.

"What in the Sam hell do you think you're doing?"

Miley looked confused. "I…just needed some more Tabasco."

"Don't get smart with me, girl. You got some nerve comin' into town like this," hissed the man, still holding onto Miley's wrist. Lilly stood, wondering if she should intervene, but had no idea **what** she would do.

"I'm with momma. Can you let go now, please?" said Miley, her voice completely even.

He seemed to just pull her closer. "You watch yourself, girl. I ain't scared of you."

"Ed, you let go of my daughter right now, or you'll be wearing this cup of coffee."

Lilly turned to see Miley's mom standing behind the bar, a look of such fury on her face she was turning red. The man nevertheless let go of Miley, holding his hands up as if he had done nothing wrong. He turned to the woman. "You still protect her, after everythin' she done…to you and your own! Wake up, Susan, wake up."

He mumbled something incoherent and slapped some bills on the bar, before getting up. He left, the eyes of the other patrons following him out the door and returning to stare at Miley apprehensively. Miley smiled at her mother, before returning to the booth with her bottle of Tabasco. She sat and continued eating as if nothing had happened. Lilly gaped at her, but sat back down as well, stunned into silence. She didn't understand this town and she certainly didn't understand Miley. Though perhaps this had shed some light on Susan's over protectiveness and why Miley always hung out in the diner. It seemed whereas the townspeople feared or hated Miley, they at least still respected her mother enough not to bother the girl in her presence. At least until today.

"Miley…" said Lilly, voice shaky. If Miley was acting like nothing had happened, maybe it had happened too many times to upset her. The girl looked up, blue eyes unconcerned.

"You don't look so good, Lilly. Here, have some pancake." Miley pushed the plate over to her and Lilly grabbed the fork to take a bite. She'd completely forgotten about the hot-sauce and nearly choked as the piece hit her mouth. She reached for Miley's water glass in panic.

Miley looked at her apologetically. "I forgot about the Tabasco, sorry. But at least the color's come back to your face."

Before Lilly could make a comment, Susan sat in the booth next to Miley. She no longer looked furious, but concern was clearly etched on her features. Her eyes met Lilly's as if in silent understanding. The woman sighed and turned to look at her daughter. Miley stopped, forkful of hash browns in mid-air and furrowed her brows. "What's wrong, momma?"

The woman smiled and brushed some hair from her daughter's eyes. "Sweet pea, maybe you and Lilly should get out of here for a bit. You can take the truck; go back to the farm and hang out there."

Lilly saw the offer as a mere ploy to get Miley out of town and away from all the crazy people, but Miley seemed to have no such misgivings. She smiled, almost excited. It was as if she either had no concept of ulterior motives or she just didn't care. "Alright. Lilly, I can show you the chickens. There's an evil one named Burt who bit me last week."

Lilly smiled in spite of herself and nodded. As long as she got to hang out with Miley it was fine with her. Susan handed Miley the keys and kissed the girl's forehead, before returning to work. Miley practically jumped up in excitement, taking one last bite of her Tabasco pancakes and rushed towards the door. Lilly followed at a much more calm pace.

The ride was anything but subdued. Miley dug through a heap of stuff behind her seat, eyes on the road, and triumphantly held up a cassette tape. She haphazardly shoved it into the cassette player and the whiny sounds of a tape having been played too many times filled the cabin. It was an 80s song Lilly actually recognized, though she would certainly not have sung along at top volume as Miley was doing. Lilly couldn't help but smile, however; not only did Miley have an awesome voice, but she was also too cute for words. So she just sat, watching her friend.

"I come home in the morning light, my mother says 'When you gonna live your life right?' Oh, mother, dear, we're not the fortunate ones, and girls, they wanna have fu-un…hey, why aren't you singing, Lilly?"

Lilly made a face, "I uh, don't know the words." It wasn't the complete truth, but she was a horrible singer and there was no way she'd want to drown out Miley's voice with her own wailing.

Miley made a swift turn off the paved road and Lilly looked around. She was not going towards her grandma's house. "Miley, where are you going?"

"Oh, just a little detour," grinned Miley, speeding up. The truck bounced and shook going across the ruts and holes in the dirt. Lilly held onto the door, wondering if she'd been wrong all along and Miley **was** out to kill her.

"Your mom said to go straight to your house." Lilly couldn't believe she'd met someone who had turned **her** into the good kid following the rules.

Miley made a face. "Do you always do what your mom says, Lilly?"

Another swift turn pushed Lilly into the door. It had rained for several days earlier in the week and there were still a lot of mud and puddles around. "I try to stay out of trouble at least, yeah, something you should've learned by now how to do."

Perhaps hearing the slight annoyance in her voice made Miley stop and she practically slammed on the brakes. She turned to Lilly, a serious look on her face. "I just wanna show you something, Lils. Then we'll go hang out with the chickens, okay?"

Lilly groaned, knowing she couldn't say 'no' to that face. Miley grinned and rolled up her window, motioning for Lilly to do the same. Lilly did as instructed, though somewhat apprehensively. Miley slammed on the gas pedal again and the old truck lumbered forward, picking up speed. They hit a mostly open, muddy area with a few hills to the side and center and Miley looked so excited, Lilly couldn't help but be worried. Miley skidded the truck around a hill, mud splashing across the windshield and side. She laughed, swerving around the other side and Lilly could do nothing but hold onto the door handle and hope to survive.

Miley pulled up in front of a larger, steep hill, nothing but dirt and grass, and stopped. She used the windshield wipers to clear off the mud and Lilly noticed tire tracks going up the side of the hill. It was a pretty steep angle and Lilly sat up straight. "Miley…what are you doing?"

Miley grinned. "Don't worry, Lilly."

But Lilly did worry. Miley stepped on the gas and the truck lurched forward, going up the impossibly steep incline. Lilly yelled, holding on for dear life, but Miley merely laughed. The truck went up three-fourths of the way and Miley pulled the handbrake, turning off the ignition. The truck sat at a near ninety-degree angle, as if suspended in air. Lilly was freaking out, but Miley leaned back, staring out the windshield at the blue sky.

"Miley, if we die, I will kill you!"

Miley laughed again and reached for Lilly's hand. She intertwined their fingers and Lilly's mind suddenly felt blank. Why had she been angry? Her heart was thundering, but she knew it must be from the warm hand wrapped around hers. She looked at Miley, who wore a content smile.

"Just relax, Lilly, look how pretty the sky is."

Lilly let herself relax against the seat, feeling the pull of gravity and stared out the windshield. It was a beautiful day, blue sky and white clouds as far as they could see. Miley rolled open the window again, and a warm breeze, smelling of grass and mud, blew through the cabin. Lilly had to admit, it was calm and peaceful and beautiful, but that didn't mean she'd forgive Miley for nearly giving her a heart attack. She noticed movement from the corner of her eye and suddenly warm lips were pressed against hers.

Lilly was too stunned to reciprocate, eyes suddenly staring at Miley's face right in front of hers. Miley's lips were soft and gentle, her kiss feathery light and it only lasted about a second before she pulled away. A huge grin split her face as she met Lilly's eyes. Lilly could not move, nor speak, nor think, too confused and shocked by what had just happened. Miley sat back in her seat and started the truck, before releasing the handbrake. She let them roll down the hill and drove at a much more subdued pace back towards the road.

"We better get back and hose off this truck, before momma finds out where I was."

Lilly just stared at the girl. Miley apparently had a propensity of acting like nothing had happened no matter what occurred. Had she actually just kissed her or had Lilly just imagined it? But her lips tingled and her whole body felt as if it were on fire. Lilly touched a hand to her lips, reverently then stopped herself. She couldn't believe what a fool she was. Lilly knew, without a doubt, she was falling for this girl, but she had no clue, despite the kiss, how Miley really felt about her. It was impossible to read the girl and her exuberance and spontaneity made it hard to decipher whether that kiss meant what Lilly wanted it to. And, Lilly thought ruefully, I never even kissed her back.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

.

Lilly stepped out of her SUV, letting the smell of fresh cut grass sweep over her. As much as she missed California, she quite enjoyed the scenery and the air here in Tennessee. One in particular had caught her eye and she smiled as she walked up to the large tree. It looked ancient, dark and gnarly, a thick trunk and branches reaching high into the sky. Just below, lying in its shade, was the object of her affections. Lilly stopped a few steps away, just watching the girl.

Miley was stretched out in the dirt, head bedded against one of the large tree's roots. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be sleeping peacefully. She was wearing jeans that had seen better days, rips and tears and dirt that made them almost look like expensive designer ones, and a white wife beater showing off the bruises and scratches on her arms. Her feet were bare. A cat was stretched out along Miley's arm, while another had curled up on top of her stomach. Their eyes followed Lilly as she stepped closer and squatted next to her friend.

She hadn't been able to think of anything but that kiss and how she'd missed out on really enjoying it. For once, Miley had not been grounded and though they'd met at the diner twice during the week, Lilly had been too preoccupied with studying for her finals to have much time for Miley. But now, her last final behind her and a whole three months of freedom ahead, Lilly was finally going to do what she wanted.

One of the cats gave her an angry glare as she leaned closer. Lilly knelt in the dirt next to Miley, suddenly nervous. Miley was beautiful, gorgeous, adorable and Lilly's heart swelled just looking at her. She'd never held such intense feelings for anyone and it scared her. She pushed those thoughts away. Maybe she needed to live more like Miley – free and spontaneous. Lilly leaned forward and pressed her lips to the sleeping girl's. She held the contact longer than Miley had done the other day and though the kiss was almost innocent in its simplicity, her head swam from excitement.

When she finally pulled away, two blue eyes were looking into hers. Miley's gaze was intense and Lilly was worried she'd misread everything, before that waggish grin broke out across Miley's face. She sat up, displacing the cat on her chest, though her eyes never left Lilly's. Lilly was mesmerized by Miley's eyes, by whatever sparkled in them and pulled her in and wouldn't let her go.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty," said Lilly softly, suddenly feeling immensely bold. Perhaps it was her good mood over school having ended, or how adorable Miley was, but she was not going to let it go to waste. Miley smiled again and it was so warm and open Lilly had to swallow hard. She cupped Miley's cheek and leaned in again, bringing their lips together.

If Miley was surprised at all by her bold actions, she did not let it show. Their lips merged with slow passion. They did not hurry, nor get drawn under in greed and lust. It was soft and sweet, as if they were merely trying each other out, but before long Lilly traced her tongue across Miley's lips. Miley's mouth opened to give her access and their tongues brushed against each other. Warmth spread through Lilly's body and her head swam. She still had her hand on Miley's cheek and moved it to the back of her neck to pull the girl closer. Neither of them sought to deepen the kiss, to push harder, but merely reveled in the softness.

Lilly drew away after what felt like an eternity. She did not move the hand from Miley's neck. Their eyes met once again, the intensity of their connection overwhelming. Both were breathing heavily and their hearts thundered in unison. Lilly moved her hand to brush her thumb across the other girl's lips, wiping away the moisture still clinging to them. Miley's breath was hot against her hand and Lilly shivered. How could one kiss leave her feeling like she had run a marathon, won the lottery and been electrocuted all at the same time?

Miley smiled as Lilly sat back on her heels, though for once her eyes held no mischief. "I don't think I could have asked for a better first kiss."

Lilly looked at her slightly confused, after all, they had sort of kissed that day in the truck, even if Lilly hadn't responded. But seeing the reverent look in Miley's eyes, she realized with a shock what the girl had meant. "Y-you mean, your first kiss…ever?"

Miley nodded, the smile never leaving her face. Lilly suddenly felt sad and a little guilty for just having kissed Miley without asking. What if she had wanted her first kiss to be with someone else? "I'm sorry, Miley, I didn't know."

"Why? It was perfect…outdoors, under my favorite tree, with the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. Why would you be sorry?"

Lilly laughed slightly, realizing that something that might freak out another girl just didn't bother Miley. She did not seem to ever second-guess anything that happened and Lilly was glad for it. She exhaled. One of the cats brushed up against her and she absentmindedly rubbed its head. She knew what she wanted to ask, but wasn't sure how Miley would react. Then again, she had never seen Miley really upset over anything and people were horrible to her. She sighed.

"Miley, are you gay?"

Miley narrowed her eyes, though it did not look like she was angry. Lilly knew that meant she was about to be difficult and suppressed a groan. "Do **you** think I'm gay?"

"Miles, it's kinda hard for me to say, not being you and all." Miley smiled stupidly and Lilly raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You called me 'Miles'. My daddy used to call me that…"

Lilly flushed, feeling horrible now. "Miley, I'm sorry, I didn't know…I…"

Miley stopped her with a shake of her head, "No, I like it when you say it."

Lilly smiled, but then realized the change of topic. "Can we get back on track?"

"You think I'm gay."

"No, I asked if you thought you were," said Lilly, exasperated. Why was this girl so difficult?

"So, you have a lot of straight girls kissing you then?" asked Miley, voice serious, but the mischievous sparkle in her eyes gave her away.

Lilly groaned. She wanted to shake the girl. "Miley, you're impossible. I just want to know if I'm wasting my time here."

Miley frowned. "Why would you be wasting your time?"

She actually sounded genuinely hurt and Lilly closed her eyes in defeat. She decided the answer didn't matter. If she was honest with herself, she knew Miley liked her and she liked Miley and anything else shouldn't even matter. Lilly sighed and opened her eyes. Those intense blue eyes were watching her closely.

"Miley, do you want to go on a date with me sometime?" Despite her resolution, Lilly suddenly felt nervous. She'd been on plenty of dates before, but she'd never been this nervous just asking someone.

"A real date?" asked Miley, sounding skeptical.

"Yes, a real date. I like you and I want to take you out." Lilly decided using Miley's forward approach might benefit her in this situation.

Miley hardly hesitated before grabbing her hand and jumping up, leaving Lilly no choice but to follow suit. Miley's face shone with excitement. "Let's go tonight!"

It took Lilly several moments to even register her words and when she did, the younger girl was already pulling her towards the house. She stopped her. "Whoa, Miles, slow down. We can't go tonight."

"Why not?"

"I need some time to plan something, make it perfect."

Miley laughed as if she'd said something funny. "I'll be with you, it'll be perfect regardless."

Lilly was too stunned by her words to put up a protest as Miley dragged her into the house. Her excitement was palpable. Much to Lilly's chagrin, both Miley's mother and grandmother were in the kitchen when they entered. She hoped Miley would not share her news, but knew the chance was slim. Miley never held back.

"Mom, I'm going on a date. Tonight." Lilly smacked her forehead, almost wishing they couldn't see her standing in the doorway. But Miley was already pulling her by the hand into the kitchen. Both women stared at them, confusion on their faces.

"A date? With whom?" Susan saw the excitement clearly written on her daughter's face and knew it spelled trouble.

Miley looked at her like she was stupid. "With Lilly."

Susan's mouth opened, but no words came out. She looked at her mother for help, but the woman would not meet her eyes. Miley was looking at her expectantly, while Lilly stood by her side, looking terrified. Susan finally forced a smile onto her face and Miley grinned, before running off to her bedroom to get changed. Susan turned her attention to Lilly, who had just realized she was all alone with the two women.

"So, Lilly, where are you planning to take Miley?" asked Susan casually, but the way she was chopping vegetables belied her calmness.

Lilly stared at her like a deer in headlights. She hadn't thought past asking Miley out and then had practically been run over with this plan to go tonight. But Lilly knew she would do nothing to shatter the girl's excitement. "I uh…umm…"

"You did ask her out, did you not?"

She rubbed a hand across her forehead, feeling the sweat building up. "Yeah…I did."

"But you don't know where you're going." It was not a question and Lilly did not respond. Susan was quiet for a few moments, returning to her vegetables, before looking back up. Her eyes were dark. "Look, Lilly, whatever you're doing, I beg you to stop. Miley doesn't…she doesn't understand **this**…this trickery you're doing. She was so hurt after last time and I just…I can't stand seeing her like that again. So whatever it is…a dare…a lost bet…just please don't do this to her."

Lilly stared at the woman, more and more questions running through her brain. At first she'd expected Susan to be concerned about the gay thing, but that didn't seem to be it at all. It was the whole crazy protection thing all over again, but judging by the woman's words, something had happened before. She had said 'the last time'. Lilly remembered Miley mentioning a date that hadn't gone well and Miley's mom mentioning a boy she was not fond of. But Lilly did not understand why the woman thought she was taking Miley out on a dare.

"I'm not…here to hurt Miley, Mrs. Stewart. I really like her a-and I think she likes me, too." Lilly tried to sound as convincing as possible, but she was nervous. Parents normally liked her, but these were totally different circumstances.

"Miley likes a lot of things she shouldn't," said the woman, but when her mother gave her a stern look, she sighed. "She was so hurt last time…tried not to show it, of course, that's Miley…her daddy had half a mind to rip that boy's arms off…"

Lilly clenched her jaw at the thought of someone hurting Miley, but she still didn't understand **why**. No one seemed to want to give her any answers. "What happened?"

Susan looked at her, as if she didn't want to share that information, but then shook her head. "That hotshot Jake Ryan asked her out. Her daddy and I had never let her date before, because of…well…but she was so excited, we just couldn't say 'no'. And the boy was a charmer…so we let her go. Turns out he'd lost a bet…he must have said some really mean things to her, because…Miley was upset and she doesn't let much get to her."

The more answers she got, the more questions she had. Miley could not date because of **what**? Why would a teenage boy need to lose a bet to take out a gorgeous girl? Lilly shook her head, wishing someone would just give her all the facts. She thought back to the woman's story. "Jake Ryan? I think he goes to my school; he's in a wheelchair?"

Susan's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, but Lilly had noticed. The woman was cutting her vegetables again, though they were already as small as possible. "Yeah, that's him. He used to be a big football star. A few years ago he got injured during a game."

Lilly's eyes narrowed, "Serves him right." Susan looked up, shocked at the girl's words. She shrugged. "He shouldn't have done what he did. Miley is the sweetest, most carefree person I have ever met; I just don't understand wanting to hurt her. Look, Mrs. Stewart, the truth is…yes, I asked Miley out, but…I didn't mean for tonight, so I didn't think of places to go. She just got so excited…I couldn't take that away from her."

Susan looked at her for a while then nodded, "You cannot go into Crowley. Murfreesboro isn't too far and it's got some very nice places to eat and a movie theater. Miley will eat just about anything, but she really loves Chinese. Lilly, you take care of my little girl and you make her happy and we'll be okay, got that?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Susan returned to her vegetables, finally realizing they were basically mush and turned to throw them into the pot on the stove. Lilly felt like she'd just gone three rounds in a boxing ring and somehow survived. Then she realized, she was going on a date with Miley and suddenly she was all nerves.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

.

The drive to Murfreesboro was a good half hour, but Lilly had no worries about getting bored. Miley had been too delighted by the state of the art stereo system, switching through all eight CDs in the changer, before moving on to the GPS. She'd fiddled with it for a while, trying to see everything it could find, until Lilly had taken a wrong turn and Miley had sheepishly kept her hands off of it. They were almost at their destination and Lilly kept glancing at the other girl. Miley was almost sitting still, flipping a pen she'd found in the car between her fingers. Lilly smiled and shook her head. Despite what Susan had said, there was no way she could imagine taking the hyperactive brunette to a movie theater.

She'd only been to Murfreesboro a few times with her parents and didn't really know what there was to do. In a way, she had to thank Miley's inane need to fiddle with everything for a destination – she had excitedly pointed out several points of interest on the GPS. This was going to be the most unorthodox date ever, but, Lilly reminded herself, she was perhaps on a date with the most unorthodox person ever. The GPS announced their arrival just as she pulled into the parking lot. Miley was looking out the passenger window then the windshield and back out the passenger window, confusion written on her face. When Lilly stopped the car, Miley turned to her.

"This isn't a movie theater."

Lilly suddenly felt stupid for bringing them here. If she'd been dating a girl in California, there was no way she ever would have considered this a date spot and she would have laughed at anyone who suggested it, but Miley was not like those girls at all. Lilly looked at her, nervous now. "Yeah, uh…you sounded excited about this place earlier and I know you prefer the outdoors…"

Miley smiled and jumped out of the SUV, before Lilly even had a chance to react. She followed her at a much more subdued pace, but Miley was bouncing on her heels waiting for her and eventually just grabbed her hand to drag her along. "I've always wanted to see this place! Did you know they have the world's largest cedar bucket?"

She did sound excited and Lilly relaxed, letting herself enjoy the feeling of the girl's hand in hers. Though she did not share Miley's excitement about the world's largest cedar bucket, she certainly enjoyed the look on her face. "I'm glad you're happy, but slow down, road kill, you don't wanna rush through, do you?"

Miley laughed, but slowed her pace to walk next to Lilly, hand-in-hand. Lilly looked at her, smiling. Whereas to most girls changing before a date meant slipping into fancy dresses and high heels, for Miley it had simply meant swapping out her tree-climbing jeans and shirt for clean ones. And Lilly was surprised to find that she wouldn't have it any other way. Miley was so **real**, unlike anyone she'd ever been with before; she didn't hold back her emotions and she didn't care what others thought. Though Lilly still had a ton of questions that needed to be answered, she knew this wasn't the time. This was her chance to make this girl happy and she would do whatever it took.

The weather was quite nice; not too hot, with a warm breeze and Lilly was glad she'd chosen a venue outdoors. There were not too many people around and definitely no one their age. It suited her just fine and she led Miley onto the grounds, towards the array of buildings. Cannonsburgh Village was a reproduction of a 19th century pioneer village, something so far removed from Lilly's normal interest range, she would have laughed at anyone suggesting they come here. Anyone but Miley, of course. Though Miley hadn't struck her as particularly studious, she seemed to enjoy this.

"Maybe I can convince grandma to count this as schoolwork," said Miley, making a face.

"Aren't you on break?" Lilly held open the door to the old schoolhouse so Miley could enter.

"No, grandma says I forget too much." Miley didn't sound too upset by it, her eyes scanning the schoolroom setup with immense interest.

Lilly knew she would be a lot less amicable if her summer break were taken away, but, of course, Miley was completely different. "Have you always been home-schooled?"

They exited the building and Miley stretched her face to the sun, eyes closed. She stayed like that for several moments, before turning to Lilly with a soft smile, "No, I used to go to school…until I was 11. That's when it got worse."

"What got worse?" asked Lilly, almost holding her breath for an answer. She hadn't really wanted to get into this subject on their date, but Miley had brought it up.

"People…they're just…I don't know…" Miley trailed off and Lilly hoped she was just gathering her thoughts for an answer, when her eyes suddenly lit up and she pulled on the blonde's hand, "Let's go to the chapel!"

Lilly suppressed a groan, letting herself be dragged along. She'd been so close to an answer, once again. She tried to push those questions from her mind as they continued through the village. Whatever it was that drove the townspeople to fear and hatred, Lilly knew it would never matter to her anyway.

After over an hour, when the growling of Lilly's stomach became rather noticeable, they left to go to dinner. Lilly knew she owed the success of this date to her GPS, which had found a decent Chinese restaurant for them to eat at. There was no way Lilly was ever going to tire of seeing that excited sparkle and happiness in Miley's eyes.

They sat at a back table in the quiet, little restaurant, completely at ease. Miley was playing with her chopsticks, while Lilly watched her, smiling. Miley saw her smile and raised an eyebrow, pointing a chopstick at her. "Don't think you'll get lucky tonight; I don't kiss on the first date."

"Not even for getting to see the world's largest cedar bucket?" Lilly grinned.

Miley scrunched up her face as if she were really thinking about it, "You do have a point." Her smile turned more serious, "This was the best date ever, Lilly. Thank you."

"It's not even over, yet. What if you hate the food?"

Miley laughed. "I don't hate food. And I'm still here with you, which is all that's needed to make it the best date ever."

Lilly liked how Miley never held back what she feeling, but she certainly wasn't used to it. Dating normally required a repertoire of tricks and lies and tests to gauge someone's feelings and reactions, but with Miley none of that even applied. Miley had no reservations about putting her heart out there and it made Lilly all the more angry for someone having taken advantage of that. How could someone look into those sparkling, blue eyes, see that brilliant smile and want to destroy it? A chopstick was suddenly waving in front of her face and she blinked.

"Where'd you go?"

Lilly suppressed the urge to sigh at her thoughts and smiled instead, "I was just thinking…how everyone in here is totally jealous I got the most beautiful, amazing date."

Miley met her eyes, her gaze intense. "I think everyone in here is over 60."

"They're still jealous."

Miley laughed and reached her hand half-way across the table, laying it palm up. Lilly only hesitated the briefest of moments, because they were in public, and reached over, running her fingertips across the palm of Miley's hand. Miley laughed again and Lilly took her hand in hers. Their eyes met again across the table and they held each other's gaze, mesmerized. It was several minutes before the waiter came with their food and Lilly almost moved her hand, but Miley held it tight. The waiter did not bat an eye at them and Miley grinned as soon as he left, clinking her chopsticks at Lilly. Lilly laughed. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so light and happy, like nothing could go wrong. She couldn't remember the last time she had fallen for someone so quickly and so completely. Lilly knew she was in trouble, but she'd take on a thousand times of trouble just to get to be with Miley.

**xxx**

Lilly landed her kick flip with ease and stepped off her board. She wished for the hundredth time there was a real skate park, other than the few homemade ramps and rails they had to skate on at the park. She looked at her cell phone. Still another hour before Miley would be allowed to go outside. Lilly hadn't realized what a tight reign Miley's grandmother had over her schoolwork, until she had all this free time and no Miley to spend it with. She was trying to make plans for their second date, but it was hard when she had to borrow her mother's car all the time. Lilly made a mental note to beg her father for a car, again.

She noticed Oliver coming up to her, a cloudy expression on his face. Lilly took off her helmet and brushed away the hair clinging to her sweaty forehead. "Hey Oliver, what's up?"

He didn't acknowledge her greeting, his eyes darting around, before finally settling on her. She would have laughed, but his seriousness worried her. "I need to talk to you."

Lilly shrugged, following him to one of the picnic benches in a more secluded spot. She sat her helmet on the table and took a seat on the bench, Oliver following suit. He seemed nervous, a bit fidgety even and Lilly wished he would just spit it out. She had a horrible feeling he was going to say something she wouldn't like. After a few moments of him staring at his nails, he finally looked up.

"I heard rumors…that you were in Murfreesboro on Friday with…Miley Stewart." His voice was even until the end, when he practically whispered Miley's name.

Lilly gaped at him. "You're kidding me, right?"

Oliver looked almost relieved. "Oh gosh, so it's not true then? Wow…"

"I didn't say that." She crossed her arms and his face fell. "I want to know why someone cares enough to tell everyone who I went on a date with."

"Well, it's…wait, what? Date?" Oliver suddenly looked an odd combination of nervous and perplexed.

Lilly sighed; she'd forgotten that she hadn't come out to them, yet. "Yes, a date. I'm gay."

He stared for a few moments, lost in thought. "Oh…well…okay…that's fine."

"I know it is. I wasn't asking for your permission." Lilly hadn't planned on being so snappy with him, but now he was just wasting her time. Time she could use to get ready before going over to Miley's.

Oliver swallowed hard at the look on her face then shook his head as if to clear it. "Look, Lilly, that's even worse. You can't date Miley!"

"Why. Not?" It hadn't really been a question, so much as a challenge to finally give her some answers.

He leaned closer and his voice actually shook as he spoke. "Something horrible is going to happen."

Lilly closed her eyes in frustration. "I **don't** understand, Oliver."

"Don't you know what happened to the last person she dated?" He sounded close to panicking and Lilly just wished he'd calm down.

"What does Jake Ryan have to do with this?"

Oliver made a strangled noise and stood abruptly. He ran a hand through his hair and took a few steps in one direction, before turning to walk back towards her. He leaned closer, eyes intense. "Lilly, I'm telling you this because I am your friend. You need to stay away from that girl; it is **not** safe. Please, just listen to me."

Lilly took a deep breath and exhaled. She stood up and grabbed her gear, before looking at the boy. "Look, Oliver, I like you; I think you're a great guy, but you need to stay out of my personal business. Now, I gotta go."

She left him standing there and jumped on her board as soon as she got to the road. Lilly pushed as fast as she could, just wanting to get back to her house. She still understood nothing and it frustrated her. But worst of all was that tiny seed of worry he had planted inside of her.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

.

Lilly exited the car and immediately looked to where Susan stood just in front of the old tree. She frowned, wondering what was going on and walked over. Susan had dialed down her derogatory comments and looks in regards to Lilly ever since the date. Maybe she had finally come to realize Lilly was serious about Miley and the excited way the younger girl had given her mom a detailed recap of the date had likely helped, too. Miley's enthusiasm was always infectious.

"Miley, please, come down." Susan sounded exasperated, like she'd been standing there for a while with the same lack of results. Lilly stepped up next to her, following her line of sight to the tree. She saw nothing but the rustling of some leaves. Then one of the branches seemed to move and more leaves shook, going higher and higher.

"Miley Ray Stewart, I told you not to go that high. Get down here right now!"

Lilly glanced at the woman. "What happened?"

Susan turned to her as if noticing her for the first time and sighed. "Burt, her favorite chicken, died this morning. She's been up there ever since."

Lilly frowned. "Burt? Isn't that the one that bit her?"

Susan chuckled at that and shook her head. "They had a love-hate relationship, one might say." They were silent for a while, just watching the tree. When the woman spoke again, her voice was sad and Lilly knew immediately she was sharing something important. "Miley doesn't deal with death all that well…I mean, once she does, she puts it well behind her, but until then…she's like this. She's just lost so much…"

Lilly noticed the tears filling the woman's eyes and swallowed hard. "She told me about her dad…and her brother…I'm really sorry."

Susan nodded. "That was hardest on her, on all of us. Just a year before that, her Mamaw and Papaw, my husband's parents, died within a few months of each other. My father died when she was a little girl. Now Burt…I know it sounds silly…it's just a chicken…but it means a lot more to Miley."

Lilly nodded, sadness blanketing her. She wanted to hug Miley and never let her go. She looked at Susan by her side. "Do you mind if I try?"

"Knock yourself out."

Lilly's hands were sweaty, though she didn't know why she was suddenly so nervous. She wiped them on her pants, as she stepped underneath the tree. Even from there she could not see Miley and realized with a shock how high she must actually be.

"Come on, road kill, I came all the way out here to see you and now you're not here. I'm gonna have to hang out with your mom and grandma."

Lilly didn't want to guilt Miley into coming down, especially knowing the circumstances, and she hoped the brunette knew she wasn't seriously upset over this. There was some rustling and Lilly thought she caught a flash of blue moving between the branches. Branches shook, as Miley seemed to climb between them and then stopped again. Lilly looked up, trying not to let the shock show on her face. Miley was wedged between two branches, at least fifteen feet high. At least she had come down some, Lilly thought.

"Lilly?" The girl's voice was barely audible by the time it reached the ground, but Lilly looked up, hoping Miley could see her face.

"It's me, Miles. Are you gonna come down?"

There was silence for a while, before the leaves rustled again. "Okay."

Lilly almost hadn't heard her, but Miley began moving and swiftly making her way down the branches. She'd come down a good way, only a few yards off the ground, when Lilly heard something snap. The leaves swooshed and Miley landed on the ground with a thud. Lilly rushed over in near panic, her knees hitting the dirt next to her friend. Miley let out a low groan and turned over onto her back. When she saw Lilly she smiled, though today there was an inherent sadness in her eyes that Lilly wished she could erase.

"Holy shit, Miley, are you okay?" Her heart had shot into her throat seeing her friend fall and it was still thundering rapidly. Her hands reached out unconsciously to brush some dirt and leaves from Miley's shirt and pants, stopping just before they reached her hair. Lilly gently picked out a few leaves from Miley's curls, intensely aware of the blue eyes watching her.

"It's alright. Just a bruise. I'm glad you came," said Miley and sat up, only wincing slightly as she did. She stared into Lilly's eyes and leaned forward, pressing her lips to the blonde's. Miley was a soft kisser, without hurry, and though Lilly might normally have been frustrated by that, she couldn't imagine it any other way now. Miley pulled back, smiling lightly.

"I like being able to do that whenever I want. I can do that whenever I want, right?"

The way her face scrunched up at the end made Lilly chuckle. "**Whenever** you want."

Another voice interrupted them and Lilly remembered they hadn't been alone. She flushed bright red. "Miley, could you maybe wait to do that when I'm not around?"

Miley seemed to not be embarrassed in the least bit, but stood and gave her mother a sheepish look as she walked over to the woman. "Sorry, momma."

Susan, happy just to have her daughter out of the tree, wrapped an arm around her and hugged her tightly. Lilly walked up to them, though stood off to the side. Susan threw her something akin to a grateful look and pulled away from her daughter, an arm still around the girl's shoulders. She moved them towards the house.

"Momma, can we have a funeral for Burt?" asked Miley quietly.

"Of course we can, sweet pea. Whenever you're ready."

Miley nodded resolutel., "I wanna build a box first. And can we do it under the tree? Burt would have liked the tree."

"Whatever you want," said Susan, opening the door to usher Miley inside. She noticed Lilly standing a little farther away, looking unsure and motioned for the girl to come in. "Lilly, maybe you and Miley would like to watch a movie or something. I've got to go to work in a few."

Lilly didn't hesitate to follow them into the house. She knew there was nothing anyone could say to keep her away.

**xxx**

"Lilly? Where are you going dressed like that?"

Lilly stopped just short of the door and turned to face her mother. The woman was looking at her skeptically and Lilly tried to put on a neutral face. "I'm going to Miley's."

Heather Truscott nodded, but the skepticism didn't vanish from her face. "Then why do you look like you're going to a funeral?"

Lilly made a face, wondering if she ought to tell her mother the truth. She decided it might the best course of action, if she didn't want the woman to think she was insane for wearing all black in the middle of the summer heat. "Uh…Miley's favorite chicken died."

"Please tell me you're joking," said Heather, staring blankly at her daughter. When Lilly didn't respond, the woman exhaled heavily. "You're not joking."

Lilly didn't think there was anything she could say and merely shrugged. Heather came closer, sighing. "I swear, if your father wasn't so damned excited about his new job, I would've already moved us all back."

Lilly shrugged again; she couldn't exactly argue with that, though now that she had found Miley, things were different. Heather stopped in front of her daughter, plucking at some invisible lint on the girl's shirt. "So, when do we get to finally meet Miley?"

"You've met her," said Lilly hesitantly, not liking where this was going.

"For about five seconds before you ran out of the house, yes. Why don't you invite her over for dinner sometime?"

"Uh…yeah."

Heather sighed. "We'd just like to know who's got you so excited. And that you're not going to get hurt."

Lilly stopped, narrowing her eyes at her mother. Her words were suspicious. "Mother, what have you heard?"

"What makes you ask that?" The woman sounded too innocent.

"Because why would you say that?"

Heather grimaced and relented. "I've heard some things around town, snippets really. No one's said anything concrete to me about her, but I was a little worried."

Lilly shook her head, angry now. "Well, there is nothing wrong with Miley; she's absolutely sweet and adorable. People in this town are just crazy."

"Well, I can't argue with that," said Heather, not too thrilled to have left her normal life in California for this small town. "But why would they hate a teenaged girl?"

"Who knows, maybe they have nothing better to do?" Lilly wanted to leave, to get out of this conversation and so as not to miss Burt's funeral.

Her mother shook her head. "Still, there's something strange about all this. What happened to make them act this way?"

Lilly suppressed a groan, though she had asked herself that same question multiple times. "I don't know, no one tells me anything. Can I go now? I'm gonna be late to the funeral."

Heather grimaced at the reminder of a chicken having a funeral, but nodded. Before Lilly could leave, however, she called after her. "But we still want to meet her."

"Yeah, yeah," huffed Lilly, exiting out the door.

**xxx**

They sat in the shade of Miley's favorite tree, enjoying the weather and each other. Lilly was leaning back against the trunk of the tree, while Miley sat beside her with one leg thrown across Lilly's. Miley was writing on her jeans with a pen and Lilly wondered whether she was going to get in trouble, again. Miley sat almost sideways against her so half of her upper body was pressed against Lilly, who couldn't help but be affected by it. She had never felt such a need for someone before, while at the same time being completely willing to take things slow. She no longer understood herself.

Miley stopped her writing and looked up. Lilly glanced at her pants. The letters MS and LT were contained within a little heart. It was horribly cheesy and Lilly laughed. She met the other girl's blue eyes and Miley smiled softly. "I made you something…for your birthday."

Lilly wasn't sure whether she should be worried, but Miley was already fumbling in her pocket. She pulled out the object and held it up for Lilly to see. It looked like a wristband, woven pieces of differently colored string, leather and what seemed to be feathers. Lilly took it hesitantly and noticed for the first time Miley seemed almost shy. She looked at Lilly, smiling. "It's a good luck charm."

Lilly turned the band over in her hand, looking at the intricate woven pattern. It was really quite beautiful and she felt touched Miley had gone through the trouble of making something for her, instead of just buying something random. When she hadn't said anything in a while, Miley shifted nervously. "I'm sorry I didn't get you something better, but…"

She was cut off with a soft kiss and when Lilly pulled back, Miley was smiling again. "No, I love it, Miles. It's really amazing. Thanks, road kill."

She put the band around her wrist, holding it out in front of her to admire it. Lilly reached down and took Miley's hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. She could sit here forever, she knew, under this tree, with this girl. Never in a million years would she have expected finding contentment in Tennessee. She looked down at her wristband, turning it back and forth.

"These aren't Burt's feathers, are they?" She didn't want to sound ungrateful, but she was a bit apprehensive about wearing chicken feathers. Though the look on her mom's face when she told her might be worth it.

Miley snorted. "No…Burt was a chicken. That's one of Mike's feathers. I told him what I was making for you and he let me have one."

Lilly looked at her, skeptical. "And who is Mike?"

"Our peacock."

"You have a peacock. Named Mike. And you talk to him." Lilly didn't want to sound condescending; she thought the whole thing was rather funny. Miley was so earnest about everything, it was hard to judge the things she said.

Miley shrugged. "He wanders around a lot. But he's really pretty. Normally, he drops his feathers where I can't find them, except that one…so I figured he was giving it to me."

Lilly shook her head, amusement clearly evident on her face. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to Miley's again. The contact lasted a bit longer this time and she pulled away all too reluctantly, placing another quick peck on the girl's nose. Miley's eyes fluttered open and she smiled and Lilly couldn't believe how incredibly happy she felt just staring at her. It felt like she was falling in love. Lilly nearly choked at the thought.

"I wish I could go to your party tomorrow," said Miley, using her pen to draw on Lilly's arm.

Lilly suddenly felt immense guilt eat at her again. Her mother had practically forced her to throw a birthday party, despite Lilly's pleading to the contrary. She had a feeling her mother was worried she was being too isolated in this town and was trying to force a social life upon her. Lilly had given in, just to stop the argument, and had asked Oliver to invite people, saving her the trouble from asking people she didn't know. But all she had been able to think about was that Miley would not be able to come to her birthday party.

"Miley…" She didn't know what to say, but Lilly had half a mind to invite the girl anyway – everyone else be damned.

But Miley merely sighed, almost theatrically. "I'm gonna be grounded, again."

Lilly frowned. "What did you do this time?"

Miley looked up, her regular grin firmly in place. "I painted some of the chickens blue."

Lilly looked at her weirdly and shook her head. That girl truly was a handful. Lilly wondered, though, whether Miley had done it intentionally to get grounded and have an excuse for not going to Lilly's birthday party. They both knew why she couldn't go, though Lilly knew decidedly less about why exactly that was. In a way it would be less painful this way. She sighed, wrapping an arm around Miley's shoulders and pressed a wet kiss to her cheek. Miley laughed, still not done with her masterpiece on Lilly's arm.

Looking at the girl snuggled into her side, who could be so happy despite all the crap she had to deal with, who was excited about the simplest things, who did what felt right, who made her feel more alive than she had in a long time, Lilly knew what she wanted. They'd only been on a few dates, mainly because of Miley's strict mother and because Lilly refused to call anything that involved said mother a date, but it didn't matter. She wanted Miley to be her girlfriend, everyone else be damned. She tried to gather up the courage to ask the question.

"Miley…" started Lilly then stopped. She suddenly felt nervous, though she knew without a doubt she had nothing to fear. Miley looked at her and Lilly cleared her throat.

Miley sat up abruptly, turning to Lilly with a sparkle in her eyes. She seemed excited about something and Lilly was only too willing to let her go ahead, giving herself a temporary reprieve. "Lilly, can I be your girlfriend?"

Lilly's mouth opened and closed and for a moment she was too stunned for words. Then she groaned. "Miles, you are impossible, you know that?"

Miley frowned. "So I can't be?"

"No…yes…I mean…ugh…it's just that I was about to ask you the same thing."

Miley furrowed her brow, confused. "So, I'm your girlfriend then?"

Lilly laughed, her nervousness vanquished, and she leaned over to kiss Miley lightly. "Yes, you're my girlfriend."

Miley smiled and Lilly pushed her gently onto her back, propping herself up on top of her. She leaned down and their lips met gently. Their kisses had never gone beyond slow and soft, though there certainly wasn't a lack of passion. Lilly figured that was just the way Miley was, soft and gentle, slow and laidback, intense and real. Miley's arms wrapped around her neck, pulling her closer. Lilly lost herself in the feel of her girlfriend's lips.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

.

Lilly was getting antsy and she knew if she was feeling that way it must be ten times worse for Miley. She threw another look at the clock, but only five minutes had passed since the last time she had checked. With a groan she turned back to the books spread in front of them. Miley was fidgeting horribly, tapping her feet, shifting in her seat, fingers playing with the edge of the book she was looking at. Lilly knew she could easily leave, this wasn't her homework that had to get done, but she couldn't just leave her girlfriend in dire straits.

The thought of Miley as her girlfriend still made her smile. It had only been a few days since it had become official, but other than Lilly's birthday party, they'd practically spent every free moment with one another. Except, of course, the time Miley was forced to spend on her schoolwork. Lilly had quickly realized the reason Miley's lessons seemed to drag on for so long and rob her off time with her girlfriend was simply that Miley was so hyperactive her grandmother had to give her fifteen minute breaks every thirty minutes. Now Lilly was anxiously waiting while Miley finished her algebra homework.

She could tell Miley was itching to run around or climb a tree, but instead they were sitting in the diner, immobile. Grandma Ruby had gone to Murfreesboro again and Susan hadn't trusted her daughter's attention span to finish the homework on her own, so now they were both stuck there. Lilly had tried helping, but apparently her brain did not cooperate on vacation mode. At least it looked like Miley was almost done.

The screeching of tires sounded abruptly, followed by a crash. Most of the people in the diner jumped up, looking out the windows or running outside to see what had happened. In a town this size, nothing exciting ever did, and even Lilly felt compelled to alleviate her boredom with a bit of rubbernecking, though she reigned herself in. Miley glanced up from her papers to look out the window, but from their position they could only see the tail end of an old truck stopped a little further down the road. Lilly stood, trying to get a better angle, when a man burst into the diner, out of breath.

"Old Ed McCarthy just got hit by a truck. Someone call an ambulance!"

Lilly sat back down, shocked. An uproar went through the diner at the news. She thought she'd heard the name before and realized it was the old man who had grabbed Miley at the diner a few weeks ago. A few people ran out to help, or, more likely, watch, and those that stayed inside were practically glued to the windows. There was some murmuring inside the diner and the voices seemed to get louder, until some rang out above the cacophony.

"We know who's responsible. What are we waiting for?"

"Ed's just an old man, he'd never harm a fly…what's he ever done to her?"

Lilly wasn't sure who this 'her' was they were talking about, but she had a horrible feeling. Suddenly Susan was next to them, grabbing Lilly's arm none too gently to pull her out of the booth. Her face was pale, worried, and she kept glancing at the angry rubberneckers by the window.

"You have to get out of here, **now**," said Susan quietly and Miley looked up at her mother with unguarded, innocent eyes. Susan pulled her out, as well. "Lilly, can you take Miley to your house?"

Lilly, though still in the dark about what was really going on, understood the woman's need to get Miley away from the crazy townspeople. She almost nodded, before stopping herself. "My mom's got a book club thing going on. I'll take her car, we'll go to the farm."

Susan nodded, stopping her daughter from packing her school books. Miley looked at her with sad eyes. "Mom…"

"Honey, you need to go…take the back exit. Lilly will stay with you."

Lilly nodded and took her girlfriend's hand. She might not understand what was going on or the need for this urgency, but she would not doubt or argue Miley's safety. Susan ushered them towards the kitchen and Lilly noticed one of the men coming towards them. He looked angry. She tugged on Miley's hand and they made their way through the kitchen and out the backdoor of the diner. The bright sun blinded them, but Lilly wasted no time and took off towards her house, never letting go of her girlfriend's hand.

The storm clouds rolled in as if on cue and she heard the distant thunder. Miley's hand twitched in hers. Lilly looked at her, though she thought she probably looked a lot more panicked than Miley did. The roads were mostly empty; anyone who had been out was very likely at the accident scene to watch. She didn't slow down until they reached the edge of their property. They probably lived in one of the biggest houses in all of Crowley, owing to the fact that her father was now one of only two accountants in the entire county. Whereas her school "friends" who had come over during her birthday party had been sufficiently impressed by the display of wealth, Miley hardly ever batted an eye. Miley was much more intrigued by nature than by fancy gadgets, though she did love to fiddle with the equipment in the SUV.

They reached her front door in record time and Lilly almost doubled over to catch her breath. Miley was breathing heavily, but she seemed to have enjoyed their run, if only for the fact that it had burned off some of her excess energy. Lilly squeezed her girlfriend's hand. "Miles, I'm just gonna go grab the keys, you wait out here, okay?"

She nodded absentmindedly, eyes to sky. More thunder sounded. Lilly dashed inside, grabbed the keys off the counter and yelled something to her mom about an emergency at her girlfriend's. She'd seen the book club members still there and hadn't wanted to make life harder for her mother by mentioning Miley's name. As soon as they were both in the SUV, the first raindrops started falling. Lilly was on edge, her whole body filled with nervous energy and anxiety, but when she looked at Miley, the girl seemed hardly to have noticed anything was amiss.

"Miley, are you ever going to tell me what the hell is going on?" asked Lilly, fueled by a sudden bout of anger.

Miley looked at her, her expression so guileless, Lilly's anger deflated. "What do you mean?"

Lilly sighed, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. By the time she turned off the paved road towards the farm, the rain was coming down in buckets. A clap of lightning sounded and Miley jumped. Lilly looked at her oddly. She would have taken nature-loving Miley to be the kind of girl to dance in the rain and laugh in the face of dangerous thunderstorms. "What's wrong, road kill?"

Miley smiled at her nickname. "Lightning and I…we have a checkered past."

Lilly wanted to know what that meant, or why the townspeople were insane, but she was already pulling up in front of the cabin. She almost opened the door, but Miley stopped her, a sheepish look on her face. "I don't have my key."

"You're kidding, right?" Lilly sighed, knowing Miley was not. Now they'd have to sit in her SUV until either the rain stopped or someone else came home.

Miley nudged her shoulder. "We can go into the barn. The hayloft is very dry and comfy."

Lilly looked out the window, but she could hardly see more than a few feet. No matter how dry the loft might be, she didn't think they'd make it there without getting soaked. Perhaps staying in the SUV would be a better choice, she thought, but Miley was already out the door. Cursing, Lilly jumped out and followed her girlfriend towards the barn. She was soaked through within seconds. Miley pushed the barn door closed behind them. She, too, was drenched, but she was laughing and Lilly felt all her anger and annoyance ebb away.

Miley vanished in a little room off to the side and came out carrying a couple of old blankets. Lilly was looking at the right side of the barn, where rain was breaking through the blackened and charred slats. She followed Miley to the ladder on the other end and they climbed into the hayloft. Miley had been right; it was dry and right under the window some hay had been spread out, surrounded by large hay bales. It looked cozy enough, but for some reason seeing the burnt side of the barn had left Lilly feeling uneasy.

"What happened to the barn?"

"It caught fire," said Miley simply, spreading the blankets over the hay on the ground.

"Yeah, I can see that. But how?"

Miley sat on one of the bales, wringing out her wet hair and kicked off her soaked sneakers. "Lightning strike."

Lilly's eyes widened almost comically. "Wait, we're hiding out from a lightning storm in a barn that burned down because of a lightning storm?"

"It didn't burn down. And anyway, the lightning hit the house and then jumped to the barn. Crowley has a volunteer fire department and they're not the fastest. The house burned down, but they did save the barn."

Miley seemed hardly concerned, but Lilly remembered her jumping at the clap of lightning earlier and wasn't convinced. But she sat down on a bale across from Miley, nevertheless. "So, that's why you all live in that cabin?"

Miley nodded. "Mom and I had just moved in with grandma a few weeks before that. But she's having the main house rebuilt. It's gonna be great…I'm gonna have my own bathroom!"

Lilly couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. "Why did you move?"

"After daddy died, we didn't have enough money. The bank took our house, so we came here."

"Miley…" There were so many times Lilly felt at a loss of what to say, or felt guilty for having things so easy. But then she remembered, Miley did not see it that way.

"I like living with my grandma and with the chickens and my favorite tree."

Lilly shook her head, smiling despite herself. Nothing seemed to bother Miley. She glanced out the window to her left, watching the rain continue to pour down. The constant beating on the roof was somewhat calming and she felt at peace, though she wished she could have been wearing dry clothes. When she looked back to her girlfriend, Miley was taking off her shirt. Lilly's mouth went dry.

"Uh…Miles…what are you doing?" She thought back to the last time this had happened, when Miley had been sick, and figured at least this time it wouldn't be as horrible for her to sneak a peek.

Miley did not seem concerned with Lilly's wandering eyes. "My clothes are wet and I'm freezing. I'm gonna get under the blankets and warm up. Come on."

Lilly swallowed hard, her eyes glued to Miley, who was trying to peel off her jeans. Her voice came out as a high-pitched squeak. "Me?"

Miley laughed and practically dove onto the blanket, pulling another one on top of her. She was shivering and Lilly knew it was her duty as a girlfriend to keep Miley warm. Her mind was completely blank, her body functioning on autopilot as she tugged off her t-shirt and shorts. Lilly climbed under the blanket with her girlfriend and it was as if suddenly she had woken up, realizing for the first time what she was doing. Panic descended upon her and she almost climbed back out, but Miley was already pressing her slick, warm body against the blonde's. Lilly bit her lip to keep from groaning and squeezed her eyes shut. This was torture.

Cold fingertips danced across Lilly's skin, along her ribcage and across her abdomen. She wanted Miley to stop and she wanted her to keep going. Miley laughed and suddenly she was almost completely on top of her, one leg between Lilly's, the warm skin of her torso sliding against her girlfriend's. She was dangerously close and Lilly grabbed her hips to stop her from moving. She looked into the blue eyes and saw nothing but sparkling excitement and mischief.

"What are you doing, Miley?" It had become somewhat of a mantra for her now and wondered if Miley's mother and grandmother used that phrase excessively, as well. Then she realized with a grimace **this** was not the time to be thinking about Miley's mother or grandmother.

Miley wriggled slightly, her wet skin gliding along Lilly's torturously. She was smiling and leaned down, bringing their lips together. A fire erupted within Lilly, burning hot throughout her body. Miley's kiss was still tantalizingly slow, but she was pushing against her so completely Lilly's head swam. Miley nipped at her bottom lip and Lilly groaned involuntarily. It was as if she were losing complete control of her body and her hands gripped Miley's hips tighter, the wet material of the girl's underwear pressing against her hands. It wasn't until a hand brushed along her abdomen, sending shockwaves through her, that she managed to pull herself out of the haze.

She grabbed Miley's wrist, gently, and waited for the girl to meet her eyes. "Miley…"

The blue eyes met hers, questioning and Lilly sat up, forcing the girl off of her. The cool air hit her and she shivered. She drew the blanket tightly around both of them. Miley was now practically sitting in between Lilly's legs, her own thrown over her girlfriend's thighs. She was so close Lilly could hardly think.

"What's wrong?" asked Miley.

Lilly sighed. She couldn't believe she was literally rolling in the hay with a girl as gorgeous as Miley and had stopped her. "I don't want you to do something you'll regret."

Miley's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Why would I regret it? I want to be with you."

"Miley…it's just…we've only been together like a week. Isn't that a little fast?"

Miley frowned. "Why? I want to be with you…why would that change if it'd been five months?"

It was a valid point and Lilly, in her current state of agitation really had no counter argument. She looked into the impossible blue eyes before her. "I don't want you to do something you're not ready for, Miles."

Miley laughed. "Why would I come on to you if I wasn't ready?" She seemed to think then suddenly her face fell. "You don't want to be with me?"

Lilly realized she had talked herself into a problem. Her whole body was begging her to make love to Miley, but her brain was having misgivings. What if Miley thought she had to do this because they were girlfriends, or that Lilly wouldn't stay with her if she didn't? Then again, Lilly realized, when did Miley ever do something she absolutely didn't want to?

"Of course I want to be with you, Miley. You are the most beautiful, mesmerizing, amazing girl I've ever known. I just want to make sure this is really what you want." Lilly was warring with herself, part of her hoping Miley would back out and the other part pleading for this to continue.

"It is. Will you make love to me, Lilly?"

She could not deny her girlfriend that request. Lilly leaned forward and kissed Miley softly, cupping her chin. In one swift movement, she gently pushed Miley onto her back and moved on top of her. Miley looked up at her with such trust Lilly had to swallow hard.

"I love you, Lilly," Miley said so softly, but earnestly, it almost brought tears to Lilly's eyes. Everything inside of her screamed it was too soon, that she couldn't say that, couldn't feel it, but she knew it was **right**. Whatever this was between them, it was complete and all-consuming. It was love.

She rested her cheek against Miley's and whispered in the girl's ear. "I love you, too, Road kill."

Miley laughed. Lilly sat up so she was straddling Miley and ran her hands slowly down her girlfriend's sides. She snuck a hand underneath her back and unhooked Miley's bra. Lilly looked down at the mostly naked form of her girlfriend, trying to drink her all in. Miley's skin was soft and smooth and Lilly trailed her fingers across it, her fingertips brushing against the sides of Miley's breasts. Even in the poor light, she noticed some of the odd scars she had seen on Miley's back reaching across her left shoulder. She traced her fingers across them, surprised to find the skin was smooth.

"What happened?" asked Lilly, reverently, wanting to know everything about this amazing body beneath her.

Miley was still looking at her with those open, trusting eyes. Lilly brushed a hand across her breast and Miley arched into her touch. "Lightning strike."

Lilly stopped, splaying her hand against her girlfriend's taut abdomen. "What?"

Miley looked at her, eyes hooded, her chest rising and falling heavily. "I was…struck by lightning."

Lilly merely gaped at her, fingertips still on the strange scars. She shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that all that power had gone through this small body and left nothing but an odd array of scars. She leaned down, bringing their lips together again. Miley wrapped her arms around Lilly's neck, holding her close. Lilly trailed her hands along Miley's sides all the way to her hips. She hooked her fingers under the elastic of Miley's underwear and pulled back from their embrace, sliding the underwear down Miley's long legs. Miley watched her, eyes clouded with desire. She lay before her, completely bare and Lilly had to keep her head from spinning. Their eyes met, emotions passing between them that were almost overwhelming.

Lilly trailed her hand along the inside of her girlfriend's thigh. Miley's breath hitched. Lilly moved her body across Miley's, capturing her girlfriend's mouth to stifle the moans as her fingers slipped into the warm wetness for the first time. Miley trembled underneath her and her hands grabbed Lilly's shoulders tightly, holding her in place. Their kiss never picked up pace, never moving past the sensual slowness that defined them so well. Lilly nipped Miley's bottom lip lightly and pulled away, trailing soft kisses along the girl's jaw, towards her neck. She moved at a slow, steady pace and Miley's body trembled with each stroke. Lilly kissed her neck and curled her fingers, making her girlfriend moan into her ear. Miley's nails dug almost painfully into Lilly's shoulder.

Lilly watched her girlfriend's face, the reverent, relaxed look upon it, the way her lips were slightly parted, her eyes closed and she knew it was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. She did not speed up, keeping up the torturously slow pace, while she left a trail of soft kisses down Miley's torso. Miley grabbed her forearm tightly and Lilly moved up, kissing her tenderly. Miley arched her back and suddenly her whole body stiffened underneath Lilly's, tremors coursing through her. Lilly did not slow or quicken her pace, eyes fixed upon her girlfriend's face. Miley's eyes did not open until several moments later and when they met Lilly's, she smiled.

Lilly removed her hand and wrapped her arms tightly around Miley's body. Miley kissed her, conveying so much emotion and passion with one kiss Lilly felt her throat close up. She laid down next to her girlfriend and Miley turned, burying her head against Lilly's neck. Her arms slipped easily around her girlfriend's bare waist. Lilly held her close and realized after a few minutes, Miley was asleep. She almost laughed, but the seriousness of what had just transpired still weighed heavily on her. Lilly knew, without a doubt, this had been the most intense and most meaningful moment she had ever shared with anyone. Miley was in her heart, so completely and totally, it took Lilly by surprise, but she knew, she would not have it any other way. Because Miley was her one, she was convinced.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Lilly looked up from her burger, just as Oliver sat down on the bench across from her. She didn't know how exactly to feel about him being there, despite the fact that he was her friend. The last time they'd spoken had been at her birthday party, over a week ago.

"You came here all by yourself?" asked Oliver, stealing a fry off her plate.

Lilly sat up straighter, wary of the conversation she knew could hardly be avoided. "No, I did not."

Oliver looked confused for a second then glanced at the half-eaten burger and fries next to her, before turning his gaze back to Lilly. "You're here with **her**."

"If by **her**, you mean Miley, then yes. And I'd appreciate it if you could try to be less rude towards the girl I'm dating."

The confirmation of Miley's presence seemed to make him nervous and his eyes darted around the multiple tables set up outside the burger joint. Lilly did not feel like reassuring him that Miley had gone to the bathroom and was so easily distracted it would likely be another hour before her return. Oliver shook his head and sighed heavily.

"Lilly, why **her**? There are plenty of people who would love to be your friend."

"Strangely enough, all those people are only concerned with telling me what to do," said Lilly snidely, sick of having this conversation where she didn't know what was going on and he pretended to be looking out for her.

"That's not fair." Oliver almost sounded hurt and Lilly closed her eyes briefly, exhaling heavily.

"No, it's not. But it's also not fair the way Miley is being treated. She has done nothing wrong, nothing that anyone will tell me about, anyway. You know, she lost her dad and brother and everyone treats her like shit…everyone deserves a friend."

Oliver scoffed, stealing another fry, though his eyes kept a surreptitious vigilance. "Yeah, and did **you** know she was in that car with her dad and brother? Middle of a sunny day…and **BAM**…lightning strike. The car skidded off the road right into a tree. Her father and brother both died **instantly** and Miley? Not a damn scratch on her. Now tell me you don't find that odd."

Lilly tried not to let it show on her face that she hadn't known about Miley being in the car, or that lightning, once again, seemed to play a major role. But maybe Miley had a good reason for not telling her that story. Lilly imagined it would be torturous to tell the story of how she watched her father and brother die before her very eyes. "I still don't see why that means I need to stay away from her."

"Look, everything…things just don't make sense. I can't really explain it."

"I **know** this doesn't make sense, because everyone seems terrified of her, when I **know** Miley hasn't hurt anyone!" Lilly was getting frustrated with him, again.

Oliver shook his head. "You need to look at the patterns, Lilly. Can't you see that something isn't right here? Normal people don't get struck by lightning **four** times."

"What?" Lilly looked at him, shocked, only too late realizing she was giving him more ammunition.

His eyes shone almost triumphantly, as if he'd finally gotten under her skin. "Yeah, odd, isn't it? Do you see now that Miley's…"

He stopped so abruptly Lilly briefly wondered whether he'd choked on a fry, but the look of pure terror in his eyes gave him away. Lilly glanced to her right, where Miley was sitting back on the bench, three more baskets of food spread out before her. She seemed relaxed, but Lilly could read some apprehension in her and was surprised Miley had come back over at all with Oliver so close.

Miley, however, looked up as if nothing odd was going on. "Hi, Oliver."

The boy made a strangled sound, glancing at Lilly as if he considered briefly saving her from Miley. Instead, he stood hastily, completely ignoring Miley. "Think about what I said, Lilly."

He was off in a hurry, returning to the table of his friends, who all seemed to leave rather quickly after he motioned in Miley's direction. Lilly wished talking to him didn't always leave her feeling so uneasy and worried. She looked at her girlfriend, who was happily munching away on her food, as if nothing was wrong. Lilly sighed.

"You know Oliver?"

Miley didn't even look up from her food. "Yeah, we used to be friends…a long time ago."

She smirked at the end and Lilly rolled her eyes, wondering why it was so hard to get Miley to be serious instead of quoting song lyrics. Lilly again wondered if there was something to what Oliver had been telling her, but pushed that thought aside. Miley was the sweetest, most innocent person she knew; there was no way she was doing anything untoward. Lilly stole a hush puppy out of her basket and Miley made a face at her.

"How many times did you get struck by lightning?" asked Lilly, trying to sound casual, but her gut was twisting.

"Four." Miley did not seem perturbed at all, as if this revelation was nothing unusual. She popped a tater tot into her mouth and turned to Lilly, grinning. "Momma says that's why I can't sit still. Too much energy."

Lilly couldn't help but smile; as always, Miley's enthusiasm was contagious, but she did feel a little uneasy. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Miley shrugged. "You didn't ask. Why's it matter?"

Lilly thought it did, at the very least just because if she'd known, Oliver wouldn't have been able to get one over on her. But as much as she wanted to be angry or upset, she knew without a doubt Miley wasn't trying to trick her or lie to her or hide things from her. Miley was just Miley. Lilly took her girlfriend's hand and intertwined their fingers.

"It only matters because I love you and I can't believe I came so close, four times, to never even getting to meet you. Will you tell me what happened? You don't have to, if it's a bad subject…"

Lilly wanted to smack herself; how could getting struck by lightning not be a bad subject? Miley, however, merely shrugged. "I don't remember the first time…I was with my dad and brother, in the yard. I think I was four. Well, the second time, I was at school, when I was ten. It was during recess, so pretty much everyone saw. That's when momma and daddy decided to home school me."

She sounded like it was no big deal, but Lilly couldn't believe what she was hearing. She squeezed her girlfriend's hand tighter and Miley gave her a soft smile that made her melt. Lilly knew she was helpless around this girl. "It didn't happen for a while after that. Everyone made sure I didn't go outside if it even got cloudy, but a few days after my daddy and Jackson died…I was just so mad and…it was pouring and I went outside. That's the one that gave me that nifty scar. The last time I was climbing a tree that got struck and it jumped to me. Made me fall out of the tree, too."

She did sound upset about that last part and Lilly would have laughed, if she didn't feel so heavy. Miley could have been taken from her, multiple times, and the thought ripped a gaping hole into her chest. She shook her head slowly, trying to keep herself under control. "How did you survive?"

"Just lucky, I guess. I did get burned a few times, but it beats being dead." Miley grinned at that, popping another tater tot into her mouth.

Lilly couldn't exactly disagree, but she still felt very unsettled. Oliver's words still rang in her head and though she never paid them much mind before, she did agree that it was odd. But everything was odd; Miley, sure, but Oliver and the other kids her age, Miley's family, the whole town, really, were one giant confusing mess. Miley nudged her in the side, smiling and Lilly realized she'd been staring at her half-eaten burger for several minutes. She realized there was no point of dwelling on these things that didn't make sense, because one thing made perfect sense to her – being with Miley.

**xxx**

Lilly tapped her fingers on the steering wheel in rhythm to the music. She liked driving, though here it was hardly useful. Most of the time, she was better served just using her skateboard and feet, taking the shortcuts that got her where she was going much faster. Today, however, she'd been sent to the store with a long shopping list and a strict time limit. She was on her way back home, to return the car to her mother who had an appointment in the city. Lilly glanced at the clock. She could probably start heading to Miley's as soon as she got home and get there just in time for her girlfriend's daily prison sentence to be over.

She turned onto a back road and slowed when she noticed a group of kids gathered on the side of the road. There were six or seven of them, mostly boys around her age. As she got closer, she could hear them yelling, their faces taunting and angry. One of the boys threw something and she looked ahead. She slammed on her breaks immediately, drawing their attention. Lilly jumped out of the SUV, though left it running, and stepped directly in front of their target. They were maybe only fifteen feet apart, and all seemed out of breath.

"Lilly, what the fuck are you doing? Get out of here!"

She looked more closely at the boy and realized with a shock it was her brother. His fists were balled and he looked just as angry as everyone else. "Michael? What the hell are you doing?"

"She's just getting what she deserves. She ain't supposed to be in town!" yelled a second boy and the rest of the group chimed in. Lilly took a step back, until she felt their target behind her. She reached back and grasped Miley's hand.

"You're all fucking crazy. She's done nothing to you, just leave her alone," said Lilly, anger coursing through her. She wondered if they'd attack again, even with her present, but hoped her brother would at least step in to prevent her from getting hurt. Miley's hand trembled in hers and the normally vivacious brunette had yet to make a sound. She tugged on the girl's hand to pull her away, though kept facing the group, back to Miley. "Come on, Miley, we're leaving."

She slowly moved Miley towards her car, keeping herself between her girlfriend and the crazy people. Lilly did not take her eyes off of them once, not when she put Miley in the passenger side, nor when she got back into the driver's seat and pulled away. She even watched them in the rearview mirror for several feet, but they had not moved from their position. When they were out of sight, Lilly let out a shaky breath and finally glanced at the girl beside her. She gasped in shock.

"Shit, Miles, you're bleeding." Miley's face was calm, but pale, as she pressed a hand to her forehead. Blood was leaking out between her fingers, running down her arm and dripping onto her pants. Lilly felt a rising panic, but forced it down. Her hands shook as she held the steering wheel. She reached for the backseat and grabbed her sweatshirt, pushing it into Miley's empty hand. "Here, Miles, use it to stop the bleeding."

Miley looked at the sweatshirt, but made no move to follow directions. "But it's your favorite."

At least Miley still seemed her regular self, she figured. She wondered what she was supposed to do. There was no hospital in town and she had to get the SUV back to her mother under threat of death. She turned onto the road towards Miley's home. "Miley, **you're** my favorite. Now use it before you bleed to death in my car."

Miley smiled at her words, so normally it made Lilly wonder if she even knew what was going on. If not even having stones thrown at her could perturb this girl, maybe something really was wrong with her. But Miley followed her instructions at last, pressing the sweatshirt to her forehead, though Lilly could still see the blood that had run down her arm. She suddenly realized how much blood there was and bile rose in her throat. She forced it down, making a sharp turn onto the unpaved road towards Grandma Ruby's property. Normally, she'd take the SUV across the bumpy road as gently as possible, but today she did not care. She stopped almost directly in front of the door, the tires kicking up dust.

Lilly ran around to the other side and helped Miley out of the car. Blood now covered a good amount of the front of her shirt and thighs. Lilly wrapped an arm around her waist to escort her inside, though Miley seemed surprisingly steady on her feet. Lilly practically shoved the door open, yelling as soon as they entered.

"Mrs. Stewart! Come quick!" Lilly gently pushed Miley to sit on one of the barstools, just as Susan came running into the room.

She immediately rushed to her daughter's side, moving the bloody sweatshirt aside to assess the damage. "What happened?"

"Lilly was like a knight in shining armor…she rode in…on her SUV…and saved me," said Miley, smiling, though she was starting to sound slightly off. Susan turned to Lilly for a proper explanation.

Lilly shrugged, trying to shake the adrenaline still coursing through her veins. "I was just driving by. Some kids…they were throwing stones at her…"

Lilly could tell the woman was clenching her jaw and she even thought Susan's eyes filled with tears. Susan pressed the sweatshirt back against Miley's head and grabbed the First Aid Kit they kept in one of the cabinets. Lilly knew, with a kid like Miley, closest to the door was probably the best spot for a First Aid Kit. She watched as Susan removed the sweater again and laid out some supplies on the counter. Lilly looked at Miley, who was now strangely silent, but noted, to her relief, the trickle of blood had slowed immensely. There was, nevertheless, a gash stretching just across her hairline.

Then Lilly remembered her mother's appointment. She did not want to leave Miley, not after what had just happened, but she knew if she didn't, she probably wouldn't get to see Miley for a long time. "I uh…I gotta get the SUV back to my mom…I will be back as quickly as possible. Are you going to… take her to a hospital?"

Susan was cleaning the gash, not looking at her. Lilly noticed Miley flinch, though her face remained unusually stoic. "No, I think the bleeding's mostly stopped."

Lilly nodded and squeezed her girlfriend's hand, before running out the door to the SUV. She made it home in record time, sure that by tomorrow the whole town would know about her excessive speeding. She rushed inside, yelling for her mother. "Mom, come on, you have to drop me back off at Miley's!"

There was no answer and she went into the kitchen to find her mother. She found her brother instead, casually sipping from a bottle of water. Lilly balled her fists, angry enough to consider punching him, though she knew it would only keep her from Miley. She walked up to him, fury written on her face. "What the hell is your problem?"

He stood straighter, narrowing his eyes. "**Mine?** What the hell is **your** problem?"

"My problem is you and your dumbass friends throwing rocks at my girlfriend and splitting her head open!"

"Well, my problem is your girlfriend!"

His voice was just as angry as hers and Lilly almost took a step back. "You don't even know her! What the hell, Michael?"

"I know enough, Lilly. She's bad news and you need to stay away from her."

"Not you, too," groaned Lilly. She crossed her arms. "What, did they brainwash you? Make you drink their Kool-Aid? Miley's done nothing wrong; she's just a kid like you and me."

Michael scoffed. "She's not like you and me. She's evil."

Lilly actually laughed out loud, so ridiculous was his statement. "You can't be serious."

"Wake up, Lilly, everyone sees it but you!"

"Her family obviously doesn't."

He shook his head, "They might be better served if they did. How many bad things have happened to that family? To people in this town?"

It took Lilly several seconds to put it together, but when she did, things finally started making sense. "And you think they're all Miley's fault? Michael, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"From the moment she was born, her whole family suffered nothing but bad luck. Her mother almost died in childbirth and then everyone else starting dying or getting hurt."

"I don't see how that's Miley's fault."

He groaned, as if unbelieving of her stupidity. "Everyone who talks to her or looks at her…bad things happen to them. You've seen it for yourself, Lilly! Old Ed, Jake Ryan, even some damn chicken that was stupid enough to cross her."

Lilly shook her head; her brain felt scrambled, thousands of words and images flitting through at rapid pace. "You're insane, Michael. How is Miley supposed to have done these things?"

"I don't know…she's possessed or a witch or just plain evil or something! There were these…plagues and then she was born under a bad omen; the old women who delivered her told the whole town she was evil and a few days later she was dead!"

Lilly brought a hand to her forehead, feeling utterly exhausted all of a sudden. Months of tip-toeing around these secrets and fears and this sudden moment of truth had her wishing she could go back to before. She looked at her brother, though her anger had mostly turned into defeat. Lilly knew there was no way to fight deep-seated superstition and craziness. "This is insane, Michael. I can't believe **you** of all people would fall for this bullshit. Plagues and omens? You can't be serious. I've known Miley for over two months and nothing bad has happened to me…how do you explain that?"

"Nothing has happened, **yet**. And I'm not letting you risk this family's safety for a piece of ass."

Lilly saw red. She was about to charge her brother, consequences be damned, when their mother entered the kitchen. Heather immediately noticed her children's angry faces and Lilly's aggressive stance. "What's going on here?"

"Lilly is putting this family at risk."

"Michael and his friends split my girlfriend's head open!"

They both spoke at once and it took the woman several seconds to decipher what they'd said, but when she did, she gaped at her son. "Michael, is that true?"

"Mom…" said Michael, in that tone of voice that meant he didn't want to talk about it.

"Mom, can you drive me back to Miley's? I wanna make sure she's okay," said Lilly softly, ignoring her brother's intense stare.

Heather nodded weakly, still too shocked by her son's actions. She ushered Lilly towards the doorway, but turned to face Michael, voice stern. "Don't you dare leave this house until I get back, young man. We'll talk about this later."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

.**  
**

Lilly was strangely silent as they got into the car and on the drive to Miley's house. Heather watched her daughter, who was tapping her foot nervously, face stoic. As soon as she pulled up in front of the small cabin, Lilly was out the door, with just a weak 'good-bye' to her mother. She rushed to the door, but reigned in the part of her just wanting to burst through and knocked instead. Grandma Ruby answered the door after just a few seconds. She smiled as she let Lilly in, though Lilly could easily read the concern in her eyes. Ruby motioned towards the sofa and Lilly suddenly felt awkward.

She'd waited so long to hear the truth and now that she finally knew, it just left her feeling empty. Lilly had assumed Miley had actually **done **something, accidental or purposeful, to cause the townspeople's reaction, but in reality, it was absolutely nothing. Stupid small-town superstitions that ostracized one of the most amazing people Lilly had ever met. She swallowed the lump in her throat and walked closer. What she saw nearly broke her heart.

Miley was curled up across her mother's lap, her forehead covered with white gauze. Susan was rhythmically stroking Miley's hair, a myriad of emotions displayed on her face. And worst of all, Miley seemed to be crying, silent tears leaking from her eyes, while she sniffled occasionally. Lilly had never seen Miley upset, let alone cry and the sight tore at her. She knelt in front of her girlfriend and cupped the girl's cheek. Lilly brushed some tears away with her thumb and leaned forward to press a feather-light kiss to the corner of Miley's mouth.

"Hey Road kill, how you feeling?"

Miley actually smiled at her, not her usual broad grin, but sincerely enough that Lilly's heart fluttered. "I always feel better when you're around."

"Sweet pea, I'm supposed to go to work in a few, I'm gonna call and tell them I can't make it," said Susan softly, helping Miley sit up.

"No, mom, it's okay…Lilly will stay with me. Right?" said Miley, no longer sounding quite as upset and looked at Lilly with big blue eyes.

Lilly couldn't help but smile at her. "Of course, for as long as you want me."

Susan looked between them and sighed after several moments. She brushed a hand affectionately across the top of Miley's head. "Alright, but if anything is wrong, you call. Grandma will be here, too."

She kissed the non-gauze covered side of her daughter's forehead and stood, looking at Lilly who still knelt on the floor. "Lilly, can I talk to you for a second?"

Lilly felt trepidation, but Miley, as always, seemed unconcerned. She switched on the ancient TV sitting against the wall, while Lilly followed Susan into the kitchen. Susan glanced at the back of the sofa, but Miley seemed to not be interested in their conversation. She sighed again. "I just wanted to thank you…for protecting my little girl. Who knows what else they would've done to her."

Lilly swallowed hard as the realization sank in. "Is she okay? She didn't seem upset when I left and now…"

"I think it just took some time to sink in and…those kids…well, Miley's used to people sayin' things about her, but…they told her she killed her daddy and brother."

Lilly gaped at the woman, feeling renewed anger. She remembered her brother's words, the ridiculousness of them and wondered if Susan would confirm them. "Someone told me Miley's…she brings bad luck to everyone. Is that why they hate her?"

Susan scoffed, glancing back at the sofa again. "They didn't believe it at first. Miley was born early, very unexpectedly; an old midwife who lived in town delivered her. Everyone had always called her a witch and whatnot, she **was** odd, but it wasn't until Miley was born that I truly thought she was crazy. She seemed terrified, said Miley was being born under a bad omen, a solar eclipse. She told the whole town Miley was a harbinger of something evil."

"And then she died?"

"Yes, from a heart attack. She was nearing 90, I believe. But, of course, the first seeds of doubt had been sown. I think most people put it off as silly superstition at first, but even those people who say they don't believe in superstitions, will still follow them, just in case. I think they were just looking so hard for something, it was no wonder they found a 'pattern', but they started shunning her, at school and around town."

"What happened?" Lilly didn't know what to think, how to take it all in and have it make sense. Michael's harsh words continued to ring in her ears. "I heard something about plagues."

Susan shook her head. "Like I said, they were trying hard to find things to have it all make sense. The weeks before Miley was born, there were some things happening, strange perhaps, but not wholly unexplained."

"What do you mean?"

"Some livestock died suddenly, a severe drought killed crops and then the creek flooded downstream. People claimed they saw an abundance of scorpions and snakes, just silly things, really. Then after she was born, everyone paid particular attention any time Miley did something, and their 'evidence' mounted.

A dog died days after Miley petted it, a horse went lame, a tire blew, just little things that seemed to pile up. My father died, just days after meeting her for the first time. Then the lightning strikes; after the second, we had to remove her from school. We practically forced her into isolation, hoping that if we kept her away, they'd forget about it. It worked to some degree, and Miley never complained, just happy to be, but when her dad and brother died, everything changed."

Lilly swallowed hard. Everything still sounded absolutely crazy to her. "Miley was in the car when it happened?"

Susan nodded, clenching her jaw at the obviously painful memories. "She can't remember anything about the crash. The police said it looked like lightning struck the car and her daddy lost control. Miley was fine, except for the memory loss. That, plus several unfortunate incidents that happened after, our foreclosure, this house burning down, getting struck by lightning, again, made the townspeople anxious. They think she's bringing evil down upon this town, this family in particular."

"That's ridiculous," said Lilly, wondering how an entire town could have descended so far into madness.

"Yes, to an outsider, but you have to understand how slowly they built up these ideas, how much time they had to sink in. This town has used Miley as a scapegoat to explain away every bad thing that's happened in the past ten years. It would be hard to convince them otherwise. And because of this, I am afraid every time she is out of my sight."

"And Miley knows all this?"

Susan nodded. "Yeah, she knows. But you know how she is – a free spirit, nothing gets to her. I just want to know she's okay."

Lilly glanced at the sofa, briefly. "I will make sure she is."

Susan smiled, putting a hand on Lilly's shoulder. "Thank you, Lilly. I'm glad she found you."

The woman walked away, towards the door, shouting a quick 'goodbye' before she left. Lilly took a deep breath and walked back over to her girlfriend. Miley was stretched out on the sofa and smiled up at her. Lilly sat by her waist, resting an arm on it as she leaned back.

"What did you wanna watch, Road kill?"

"Let's go outside," said Miley, sounding excited.

Lilly frowned. "I think people with holes in their head are supposed to stay inside."

Miley made a face and Lilly thought it was the cutest thing. She laughed and leaned forward, pressing her lips to her girlfriend's gently. She motioned for Miley to sit, and stretched out across the sofa on her back. Miley immediately snuggled into her side, head on Lilly's shoulder, one arm draped across her waist. Lilly ran her hand through the brown curls, mindful of the bandage still taped to Miley's forehead. She sighed.

"I wanna just lay here with you, forever," said Miley softly, her hand clutching Lilly's shirt.

Lilly hugged her closer, wishing she could make all the hurt go away. "Fine by me, Road kill. Fine by me."

**xxx**

Lilly sleepily blinked her eyes open, unsure what had awoken her. It was pitch dark in the room, though some moonlight fell in through the window above the bed. A cat mewled outside, but other than that, it was eerily quiet. She sighed and shifted under the warm weight partially on top of her, but it was near impossible to move a sleeping Miley. She was draped almost entirely on top of Lilly's body, head bedded on her chest. Lilly ran a hand through the silky soft hair spilled across her chest, wondering how she had gotten roped into staying, again.

Not that she'd pass up an opportunity to cuddle with her girlfriend, but despite everything Lilly was still somewhat apprehensive of Susan or Grandma Ruby finding them like this. Miley's mom seemed to have warmed up to her at last, and though Grandma Ruby had never shown a dislike for Lilly, considering everything that was going on, she didn't want to take the risk. Not to mention that innocent, little Miley had suddenly started dating a girl and no one had even blinked an eye – Lilly was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Miley stirred, the hand on Lilly's abdomen twitching. "Lilly…"

Lilly stopped her movement, trying to look at the girl's face. "Yeah?" There was silence, again, and Lilly briefly wondered whether she'd imagined hearing her girlfriend speak.

"Lilly is pretty," mumbled Miley against Lilly's chest.

Miley pressed her face into Lilly's chest and curled her fist against her belly. Lilly couldn't help but smirk at the realization that her girlfriend was talking in her sleep. She brushed her hand through the brown curls again, amazed that in her sleep Miley sounded just as honest and sincere as she normally did.

"No, Burt, I won't share my ice cream with you." Miley almost sounded a bit exasperated and Lilly had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing out loud. "Well…Lilly is my girlfriend…she can have whatever she wants."

Lilly couldn't understand how it was possible for one person to be so damn adorable. She leaned down and kissed the top of Miley's head. Lilly was completely taken with the girl and the speed with which she had fallen for Miley still scared her. She'd always been the aloof one in relationships, going along with the flow but never truly feeling what those other girls had wanted her to. Back in Malibu, Lilly had figured she was just too cool to fall in love and get bogged down in a real relationship, but here she was, cuddling with a girl who had dreams about chickens.

Miley's head suddenly shot up and she blinked the sleep from her eyes, staring at Lilly. She made a face. "Lilly, did you want ice cream?"

Lilly had to work hard to keep a straight face, but managed somehow. She tucked some stray hairs behind Miley's ears. "No, Miles, I'm good."

"Okay," said Miley simply and shifted until she was completely on top of Lilly, resting her head back on her girlfriend's chest. Lilly's hand unconsciously wrapped itself in the dark hair.

"Hey Lilly?" Miley sounded awake now, though her voice was thick with sleep.

"Yeah?" Lilly continued her rhythmic stroking of the other girl's hair.

"I really like you."

Lilly stopped her movement, wondering if Miley was making a joke, but she sounded so serious. "I'd hope so, you are my girlfriend, after all."

Miley sighed heavily and Lilly wondered whether she'd said the wrong thing. "No, I mean…I like that you're here…that you make me happy…a-and that…that you don't think I'm evil."

Susan had told her Miley did not let the townspeople's superstitions get to her, but she was wrong, Lilly now knew. Miley did care. And knowing how horrible people were to her and how Miley always pretended it didn't matter, made Lilly's heart ache. She wrapped her arms around the girl on top of her tightly.

"Miles, I can't think of a single person less evil than you. You're absolutely perfect and I wouldn't have you any other way. Those people…they're just crazy. Don't you listen to a thing they say," said Lilly, wishing her words could really make a difference to a girl who had been treated so poorly all her life.

Lilly squeezed her for good emphasis and Miley nodded, but sighed. "Yeah…but sometimes I do wish I could've just waited 24 hours to be born."

Lilly didn't know what to say to that, wondering whether it would've even made a difference with the superstitious townspeople eager for a scapegoat, so she remained silent. Miley seemed to relax against her and was asleep again within minutes, leaving Lilly marveling at the girl's ability to fall asleep anywhere and after anything. She took a deep breath, arms still wrapped around her girlfriend, and tried to let sleep come to her, as well. She thought briefly of Susan or Grandma Ruby finding them like this, but realized it did not matter anymore. Lilly was not going to let go of Miley, no matter what.

**xxx**

"Mom, this is ridiculous!"

Heather sighed, looking at her son in exasperation. "Michael, I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but fine…you can go upstairs while we have dinner down here, with Miley."

Lilly stood leaning against the kitchen counter, arms crossed, a sour look on her face. She still couldn't believe her own brother had gotten caught up in the craziness; he'd always been so down-to-earth and reasonable. Ever since that day Lilly had rescued Miley from those jerks throwing rocks at her, Michael had barely spoken to her, unless it was to constantly remind her what a huge mistake she was making. It surely would have come to blows by now, if Lilly hadn't spent most of her time with her girlfriend, far away from him.

He huffed, eyes angry. "Mom, you're making a huge mistake. There is something dangerous about that girl."

"Michael, she's a 16-year-old girl, I can assure you, we'll be fine." said Heather, handing some plates to Lilly to set the table. For once, Lilly didn't complain, just happy to have her mom on her side in this stupid argument.

He shook his head and moved to leave, but turned at the last second. "Fine, I'll be upstairs until she's gone. But don't be surprised if you all end up dead."

Michael left the kitchen abruptly, both his sister and mother staring after him in shock. Lilly suddenly felt sad and angry at the same time, for Miley and for her now broken relationship with her brother. She set the plates on the table and looked at her mother, hoping Michael's words wouldn't eventually sway her parents. "Mom, Miley's a good kid…it's all just crazy talk."

Heather, noticing her daughter's distress, shook her head. "It's bullshit, is what it is. Now, when will Miley be here?"

Despite everything, Lily couldn't help but laugh at her mother's use of inappropriate language. She smiled, suddenly feeling a bit lighter. "Fifteen minutes or so, depends on if she gets distracted on the way."

Heather glanced at Lilly to see if she was joking, but the girl seemed serious enough and for the umpteenth time since hearing about her, the woman couldn't wait to meet this strange girl that had completely taken her daughter's heart.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

.

Lilly couldn't remember ever bringing a girl over for dinner, nor could she remember her parents being so interested in anyone she was dating. Of course, she thought, she had always been very reluctant to talk about girls she was seeing, until Miley, anyway. Miley had just taken over her mind and made it impossible not to think about her. But Lilly knew the town's, and Michael's, crazy talk about her girlfriend had spurred her parents into asking Miley over and she hoped everything would go well. Miley had, after all, a tendency to be a bit quirky.

She glanced around the table, forcing herself to remain calm. There really was no reason to worry; Miley was sweet and adorable and had actually shown up on time, wearing shoes and non-tree climbing clothes. Of course, she had only been on time because she'd been forced to take the truck when it started raining. It was still raining buckets and Lilly suddenly realized she'd begun feeling uneasy around thunderstorms, as well. Lilly grasped Miley's hand under the table and squeezed it, trying to ease the nervousness Miley must surely be feeling. Miley turned to her and grinned, not a hint of anxiety on her face. Lilly shook her head, smiling. She should have known.

"So, Miley…" started Heather almost as soon as they began eating and Lilly suppressed a roll of her eyes. Here came the interrogation. "What are your plans for the future?"

Lilly nearly choked on her food. Did Miley even **have** plans for **anything**, let alone her future? Why hadn't she thought to coach her girlfriend before this dinner so they could get through alright? Then she remembered she had tried, but Miley had gotten distracted and antsy and suggested they go swimming. Lilly thought she heard thunder, but for once Miley did not seemed concerned.

"You mean after school, Mrs. Truscott?" asked Miley politely, voice sweet and innocent, and while with anyone else it might have been an act, Lilly knew here it was not. She just hoped her parents could truly see Miley for who she was.

"Sure. Do you have any plans for college or jobs?" Lilly looked at her father, wondering what he was getting at. It wasn't as if she and Miley were about to get married; there was no need to ask such silly questions.

Miley shrugged, seemingly unperturbed. "Momma wants me to take classes, but college is expensive and we don't have much money. And it's harder to get in if you're home schooled. Maybe I'll take some classes online, that way I could stay with my mom and grandma."

She smiled at the end and Lilly knew she was thinking about how much fun she would have living on her grandma's farm. Her parents, on the other hand, didn't seem as excited by the prospect of living life in Crowley Corners for the next forty years. Heather shook her head, seeming confused.

"Don't you want to go out and see the world? Be on your own?"

Miley looked at her, slightly confused. "No. Momma and grandma are the only family I have left, why would I wanna leave them?"

The two parents glanced at each other, discomfort clearly written across their faces and Lilly wanted to smirk at them. If they were going to ask these stupid questions, they deserved the utter bluntness with which Miley approached normally painful subjects. Her parents knew about Miley's father and brother; Lilly had spent some time talking to her mother about the superstitions, especially since Michael seemed to be so taken by them.

"So, you plan to stay in Crowley Corners for the rest of your life?"

Before Miley could answer, an ear-splitting noise sounded outside and the room was dipped in darkness. Lilly could now feel her girlfriend's hand trembling in hers and knew immediately what had happened. She turned to look at her, but could see almost nothing in the near darkness of the dining room. Her parents were already moving and Heather came back just a few moments later, holding some lit candles that threw soft, flickering light across their faces. Lilly glanced at Miley, worried, but the only thing giving away her anxiety was the way her eyes seemed to be slightly drawn.

"Looks like lightning hit a power line or something. Nothing to worry about, " said Ken Truscott, sounding unperturbed. He looked at their guest. "Miley, do you get a lot of lightning strikes around here?"

Miley smirked and Lilly noticed the tension draining out of her. "You could say that."

Lilly almost laughed, but thundering footsteps coming towards the dining room stopped her. She looked up to see Michael coming into the room, and though the light was low, she could still see his face twisted in anger. He pointed his finger at Miley, voice full of venom as he spoke, "I **told** you something would happen! **This** is her fault. She did this on purpose. She's trying to kill us!"

Lilly wanted to jump her brother and put her fist in his face, but she was hyper aware of Miley next to her, still holding onto her hand. Miley's face did not change in reaction to his accusations, not into anger, nor sadness. Lilly gripped her hand tighter, as her father stood, his face even angrier.

"Michael, upstairs now! We will talk later."

The boy glared at Miley, but listened and turned on his heel, walking away. Ken sat back in his seat heavily, shocked by what had just happened. Even though his wife had filled him in on the supposed superstitions of the townspeople and his own son's actions, this had come as a surprise. The table was deathly silent, candlelight flickering across their faces. Heather shook her head.

"Miley, I am so sorry about that. I don't know what's come over him; Michael's normally a sweet boy."

Miley merely smiled softly, seeming the least shocked of the four occupants. "It's alright, Mrs. Truscott. I'm used to it."

She turned back to her food as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened and Lilly knew, for Miley, it really hadn't. Lightning strikes and horrid accusations were practically normal for her. Part of Lilly felt sad about the realization, but seeing the disbelieving looks on her parents' faces was almost priceless. The two adults stared at Miley then threw each other looks that spoke volumes.

Lilly suddenly worried that this latest statement from her girlfriend would be too much for her parents to take. She really wanted them to accept Miley, partially because she was totally falling for the girl and partially because she feared if her parents thought there was something to the rumors, Lilly herself would have to believe them, too. Her parents were, after all, very rational people. But neither of them said anything, both returning to their plates. The rest of dinner went smoothly, with everyone talking about much lighter and easier subjects and though Lilly couldn't tell what her parents were thinking, she knew she'd hear their opinions as soon as Miley left.

**xxx**

Lilly was helping to load the dishwasher, in part because she wanted to present herself as the extreme opposite of Michael at the moment and because she was anxious to hear what her parents thought of her girlfriend. Miley had left just a few minutes ago, having to adhere to her grandmother's strict curfew. It had thankfully stopped storming an hour ago and even the electricity had come back on after dinner. Lilly thought, overall and not counting Michael's appearance, the dinner had gone rather well.

"Man, am I stuffed. That dinner was delicious, hun," said Ken, coming back into the kitchen.

Heather laughed. "Thank the good folks at Luigi's; you know I couldn't have pulled that off."

Lilly closed the dishwasher and exhaled heavily, wondering how long it would take them to say something. She was desperately hoping they approved; her parents' opinion mattered greatly to her, but so did Miley. Heather, noticing the anxious look on her daughter's face, glanced at her sideways and smiled.

"So, Miley's quite…interesting."

It was practically a death sentence and Lilly hung her head. She thought it had gone well enough, but if her mother was trying to be polite then obviously she'd come away from this thinking Miley was crazy. And in a way, Lilly knew, Miley **was** crazy, but it was her own totally addictive brand of crazy that made her laugh and happy and feel alive.

"Lilly, you need to hang on to that girl. She's fabulous," said Ken, voice serious.

Lilly looked at her father, confused, but incredibly grateful. Of course, her father and Miley had spent quite some time bonding over their crazy love for competitive eating and when she had turned out to be able to answer most of his crazy World War II trivia questions, the deal had been sealed. Lilly herself had been taken by surprise; she knew how much Miley hated to do her schoolwork and she found it amazing the energetic girl had managed to retain all that information.

"Thanks Dad, I'm glad you like her."

Ken smiled and wrapped an arm around his daughter's shoulders, kissing the top of her head. Heather looked at them, seeing the worried look on her daughter's face and smiled.

"Miley is a sweet kid, a bit quirky, but very nice. And you're right Lilly, she has a very infectious personality. I agree with your father; you should keep her around."

Lilly felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her chest. "So, you're okay with me dating her?"

The two adults glanced at each other, before Heather spoke. "Yes. Would you really stop if we weren't?"

"No, but now I don't have to sneak around." Seeing the reproachful looks on their faces, Lilly grinned, holding her hands up. "I'm just kidding, sheesh. I'm gonna go call Miley, y'know, make sure she got home alright."

The girl left the room, leaving her parents with bewildered looks in the kitchen. "Does anyone in this town **not** get home alright?" asked Heather no one in particular.

Ken laughed and kissed her cheek. "Oh honey, let her be. I think our little girl is in love."

**xxx**

Lilly trailed her fingers lightly across Miley's abdomen. A light sheen of sweat clung to the skin and Lilly smirked, thinking about the reason. She looked down at Miley's sleeping face and pressed a soft kiss to her girlfriend's forehead. Miley had a tendency to fall asleep after every time they made love and Lilly thought it was the funniest thing. And it gave her some time to study her girlfriend's features, to revel in the beauty that was Miley.

Miley blinked her eyes open sleepily, but as soon as she saw Lilly, a mischievous grin erupted on her face, a fire dancing in her eyes. Lilly groaned, grabbing the girl's wrist before it could fully make it's way down her abdomen.

"Seriously, Mile, five times isn't enough?"

Miley laughed, snaking her arm around Lilly's waist instead and pulling the girl on top of her. "I could never have enough of you, Lils."

Lilly smiled and leaned down, pressing their lips together gently. A fire erupted in her belly and she cursed herself; she was truly exhausted, but it was incredibly hard to keep her hands off of her girlfriend. Lilly rolled off of Miley, propping herself up on one elbow and trailing the other hand across her taut abdomen. Her fingers brushed against multiple scars, most from tree climbing incidents, according to Miley.

"Hey Miles, you never told me you liked history."

Miley covered Lilly's hand on her belly with her own, intertwining their fingers. She looked up at her girlfriend. "Oh no, I hate history."

Lilly made a face. "Then what happened to make my dad think you were absolutely fabulous?"

Miley shrugged. "I just tried to find out a lot of stuff about World War II. My grandpa fought in the war and I guess since I never really got to know him, maybe this was a way for me to get closer to him."

Lilly didn't know what to say to that, so instead she just leaned down and kissed Miley again. It was so easy to lose herself in the feel of Miley; Miley's smooth skin pressed against hers, their tongues brushing against each other, the brunette's hand clamped around hers. She heard a ringing noise and it took her several moments to realize it was her phone. Reluctantly, Lilly pulled away and reached for her discarded pants to grab her cell. When she saw it was Michael calling, she almost didn't answer.

"What do you want, Michael? I'm kinda busy."

"Lilly, mom and dad were in a car accident. You gotta come home right now so we can drive to the hospital."

She was falling, suddenly, spinning perhaps and Lilly blinked her eyes several times to clear away the buzzing in her head. Her hand shook and her face must have betrayed its shock, because Miley was sitting up, concern written on her face.

"W-what?"

"Leave your freak of a girlfriend **now** and get your ass over here before I leave you!" yelled Michael, distress in his voice.

Lilly swallowed, and shook her head. "Y-yeah, I'm on my way."

"And Lilly," added Michael, perhaps using her shock to finally get his opinion heard, "this is your fault, you know that right?"

He hung up and Lilly stared at her phone for several seconds, before scrambling for her clothes scattered around the hayloft. She pulled away from a confused and concerned Miley. Lilly grabbed her underwear, threw on her shirt and practically yanked her pants back on in record time.

"Lilly…what's wrong?" asked Miley softly, not bothering to get dressed.

Lilly spun in a circle, as if making sure she hadn't missed anything, and finally met her girlfriend's eyes. Nausea rose in her stomach, though she couldn't say why. Michael's final words rang in her head, taunting her. Her voice was steady as she spoke, hardly betraying her emotions, though she could not look at her girlfriend's face.

"My parents were in an accident."

Miley's eyes widened, panic etched on her face and she reached for Lilly's hand from her position on the floor. "Lilly…"

"Miley…I…I gotta go," said Lilly simply, pulling her hand out of reach. Without looking at her girlfriend, she left.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

.

The car ride had been oppressively silent, though Lilly preferred that to Michael telling her what a horrible thing she had done. He'd tried, at first, spouting his hateful words at her, but she'd silenced him with a look that was not to be argued with. Now they were sitting in a waiting room in the hospital, both lost in their thoughts and worry. Lilly was warring with herself, going back and forth between the obvious reality of things and the crazy superstitions that suddenly seemed to carry so much more weight. But an image of Miley's face kept appearing in her head, sometimes grinning, sometimes in the throes of making love to her, and others with blood dripping down her forehead. She didn't know what to feel or think and she was hardly keeping herself together. Michael was no help.

A doctor finally came their way and both practically shot to their feet, before he motioned for them to sit back down. The man's face was grim and Lilly's stomach knotted even more tightly in anxiety. The doctor pulled up a chair and sat, looking at them intently.

"I want you to know, both your parents are fine," said the doctor, like a warning to forestall their rising panic.

Lilly didn't know what to think. What did 'fine' actually mean? Alive? Conscious? The same kind of 'fine' Miley was every time she fell out of a tree? Just that brief thought of her girlfriend twisted Lilly's gut even further. She pushed it aside. Before she could ask the doctor about his definition of 'fine', he continued.

"Your father has a bad break in his leg and he's in surgery right now to fix it, but otherwise he is fine. We'll keep him here for a day or two, but other than having some mobility issues for the next few weeks, he will recover."

Michael remained stoic beside her, though she could tell he had relaxed somewhat, as well. "What about mom?" he asked and Lilly gripped her hands together tightly.

"A dislocated shoulder and a few stitches. She can go home as soon as we finish up the paperwork. If you'd like, I will take you to go see her. Your parents were very lucky," said the doctor seriously and Lilly felt like laughing. He was talking as if it hadn't been bad luck to get them into the accident in the first place.

Michael thanked the doctor and moved to follow him, almost leaving Lilly behind who was so lost in her muddled thoughts. She rushed after them, along the hospital corridors and through the ER towards a curtained off bed. When she finally stepped up to the bed and saw her mom, all the anxiety and fears she'd been walling off came crashing over her and she broke down. She was in her mother's arms immediately, crying, completely overwhelmed by the myriad of emotions she had been feeling.

Heather, too, was surprised to see her normally strong daughter in such a state and hugged her with one arm, laughing lightly. "Lilly, honey, it's okay. I'm alright and so is your father."

Lilly hung on for several more moments, before pulling away. She wiped her eyes almost embarrassed, looking at her mother more closely. Her right arm was in a sling and though there were some tiny cuts on her face and arms, she didn't really look too bad. Lilly sighed. "Mom, I'm so sorry."

Heather looked at her weirdly, cupping Lilly's cheek. "Honey, why are you sorry? You didn't do anything…"

Lilly didn't know why she had said it, really, but an overwhelming panic still hugged her tightly. She glanced back at her brother, whose face remained stoic. Lilly knew, deep down inside, what she was afraid of, but she did not want to admit it to herself. She shook her head, taking her mother's hand in hers and squeezing it. Heather wondered about the look in Lilly's eyes, about what her words had meant, but a nurse came in before she could ask. Lilly tried not to let her relief show, but she was extremely grateful to evade her mom's questioning for now. Because if asked, Lilly would have to admit that suddenly she was afraid Michael had been right all along. That Miley was evil.

**xxx**

Lilly glanced at her vibrating phone briefly, before hitting 'Ignore' and stowing the phone back in her pocket. At least she'd had the presence of mind to silence it before entering the library; judging by the looks the librarian was already throwing her way, the woman was none too pleased with her presence. Deciding she couldn't risk standing by the entranceway any longer, and trying to take her mind off of the phone call, she went between some shelves.

Her mother had vanished somewhere among the books, saying she'd only be a few minutes, but it had been much longer than that. Lilly's father had been discharged from the hospital yesterday and since he was laid up at home, they'd decided to get him some reading material from the county library. With her mother not the safest driver at the moment, Lilly had gladly volunteered to get out of the house.

She'd spent the past two days at war with herself and had yet to come to a proper conclusion. Her parents were fine, but the seed of doubt had been planted. Michael still blamed her for the accident and though her parents had said nothing about it, Lilly wondered if they thought it, too.

Her phone vibrated again and she looked at it. A new voicemail. She sighed and deleted it, cursing the guilt she felt at the action. At least Miley did not have a cell phone and thus could not text her. Lilly knew it would be much harder to ignore the girl if she had to read her messages, but the voicemails she could delete without listening to them. And she had deleted several of them over the past few days. At first, Lilly had tried to be annoyed that Miley wasn't getting the hint and kept trying to contact her, but ultimately she'd had to admit to herself that to Miley, this would just be wholly confusing. If Miley felt something, she said it, and she wouldn't understand why Lilly was just ignoring her. Maybe she even thought something had happened to Lilly, as well.

Renewed guilt washed over her and she exhaled heavily, taking a sharp turn towards some computers. She had nothing specific in mind as she searched the library catalogue, but, as if on their own accord, her fingers began typing. Lilly wrote down her results on a piece of paper and wandered off towards some shelves in the back. She found what she was looking for with minimal searching and took her finds towards some machines off on the side. Lilly found herself sitting in front of a microfiche viewer, not even sure what she was doing. She flipped through the pages and realized she was looking at old newspaper reports. She had no idea why she had looked for these microfiche or what she was hoping to find.

Idly she switched between the pages, eyes barely scanning the headlines. Maybe she was going crazy. Maybe it was her punishment for being so horrible to a girl who had never been anything but sweet and loving towards her. Or maybe it was her bad luck from being with Miley finally catching up with her. Guilt grabbed at her again and she shook her head. Something caught her eye as she flipped past and she stopped, staring at the headline in shock.

"Local girl struck by lightning for 2nd time"

She suddenly realized what she'd been looking for all along. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears as she scanned the article. It described the time Miley had gotten struck in a schoolyard during recess. There wasn't much information, but something in particular stood out to her. A teacher had been interviewed for the article, who had told the journalist that Miley had been playing with some kids by the swings and quite suddenly ran off, away from everyone, right before she got struck. The article made no assumptions, but there was a line about what a stroke of luck it had been not more children were hurt.

Lilly pulled the microfiche out with shaking hands and put in another. It seemed like forever, headlines continuously flashing before her eyes, until she found the next article. She repeated this two more times, head spinning as her eyes scanned across the screen, hands sweating. Eventually she stopped, suddenly feeling exhausted, and closed her eyes against the blurriness of her vision.

She got up, almost as if in a haze, though her thoughts were going out of control. Lilly stowed the microfiche back in their shelves and wandered almost aimlessly to the front of the library. She had no idea how long she'd been sitting back there, but her mother was waiting as she returned to the front. They returned to their car, with Lilly stoically silent and her mother respecting her need for quiet.

Lilly didn't know what it all meant or whether it even meant anything, but one factor seemed to be present in all four articles – how lucky those near Miley had been to not be struck, as well.

**xxx**

Voices filtered through her ears, practically unheard, while she sat and stared bleary eyed at the TV. It was beautiful weather outside, sunny and warm, but she could not get herself to leave the house. Part of her feared the possibility she could run into Miley and the other part wished it, making her unsure of herself. She'd even turned down a request from Oliver to come to the creek, citing a fake illness. She just could not deal with anyone and figured it was better to sit here and try to arrange her thoughts. Of course, she hadn't been doing that, either.

With a sigh, she shifted on the sofa, glancing at her phone sitting on the coffee table. Miley had not called her again since the library and Lilly didn't know how she felt about that. Had she finally figured out Lilly didn't want to talk or was something else going on? Had Miley lost interest in her? Or had she finished what she'd planned to do to Lilly and given up? Lilly scoffed at herself, at her horrible thoughts. And she knew they were horrible, judging by the awful guilt that had wrapped itself around her and wouldn't let go. Lilly no longer knew anything and she didn't know what to do.

A weight dropped into the cushions next to her and Lilly looked up. Her mom was giving her a concerned, yet reproachful look and Lilly suppressed a groan.

"What's going on, Lilly?"

Lilly decided playing dumb was her best bet and returned her focus to the TV in front of her. "What do you mean, mom?"

Realizing the girl was trying to avoid talking, Heather leaned forward and turned off the TV. Lilly turned to her, annoyed. "Hey, I was watching that!"

Heather raised an eyebrow. "You were watching The View? Really?"

Lilly scoffed and turned her head again, realizing she had been found out. She knew why her mother was giving her that look and she did not feel like talking. If her mother wanted to talk, she could very well be the one to start it, the girl figured. She remained silent.

Heather sighed, realizing this was going to be difficult. "Lilly, you know you can talk to me. I know something is wrong. You have been inside this house for five days now. You haven't gone to Miley's, you haven't talked to Miley, hell, you haven't even mentioned Miley's name. Did something happen between you two?"

"Why does something have to happen just because I'm not constantly talking about her? And anyway, you and dad need my help. I'm just trying to be here for you," said Lilly gruffly, crossing her arms.

"Well, when you spend weeks having every third word out of your mouth be 'Miley', it's a little odd when it stops completely, hun. And don't use your father or me as an excuse; he's either trying to work from home or watching movies and I'm hardly handicapped enough to need constant supervision."

"Are you saying you want me out of the house?" Lilly decided being difficult was the only way to deflect her real problem.

Heather sighed and turned to put her good hand on her daughter's arm. Lilly finally met her eyes. "You know that's not what I'm saying, Lilly. But I can tell something is wrong. I just don't like seeing you like this…all dark and brooding."

"I'm not brooding," said Lilly, realizing too late her eyebrows were drawn together, giving her that perfect brooding look. She groaned and leaned her head back, frustration shining through. "It's just complicated, mom."

"It didn't seem complicated when Miley was over for dinner. You were positively glowing. And every time you talked about her, you seemed pretty excited," said Heather, knowing she'd have to tread softly now that Lilly seemed to be on the verge of opening up.

Lilly scoffed. "Well, that was before…"

"Before what?"

Lilly looked away, realizing she'd lost. Her voice was hardly audible, as if she herself couldn't believe what she was saying. "Before the accident."

Heather looked confused. "What accident?" Seeing Lilly's face, realization sank in. "**Our** accident?"

Lilly nodded morosely. Heather took a moment to collect her thoughts, trying to think back to her conversations with her daughter. "You think our accident was Miley's fault?"

Hearing her own recent fears put so bluntly made Lilly feel even worse. Yes, it **sounded** ridiculous, but that didn't change how she suddenly felt. "I don't know what I think, mom. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I can't help worrying that everyone was right all of a sudden."

"I thought you said all those superstitions were crazy talk?"

Lilly shrugged. "I did. I just…isn't it kind of a big coincidence that you and dad get in an accident a day after she comes over for dinner?"

"Do you think if you'd never heard anyone else's accusations about Miley, that you would still think those two were connected?" Heather asked, glad that she had started this conversation. These thoughts seemed to really have been bothering her daughter.

"But I did hear them. And I can't just ignore them."

"You did before."

Lilly swallowed hard. "That was before you and dad nearly died!"

Heather grasped her hand, squeezing until Lilly met her eyes. "Honey, are you blaming yourself for what happened?"

Lilly nodded, tears filling her eyes as her brother's words rung in her head. Her mother pulled her closer, wrapping her good arm around her shoulders. Lilly snuggled closer, realizing for the first time how upset she'd really been.

"Lilly, neither your father nor I blame you. And we don't think it had anything to do with Miley," said, Heather almost forcefully, to bring the point home.

"But mom…" Lilly tried again, though in reality, a huge weight had already lifted off her chest. She hadn't realized how worried she had been her parents would blame her for bringing Miley into the house.

Heather silenced her. "No, buts, hun. Look, everything that happens is just a result of perspective."

"What?"

"Well, everyone is saying how bad things happen because of Miley, but maybe they're just not seeing the whole picture. Our car rolled three times, and both your dad and I came out relatively unharmed. I call that luck. What if the same is true for everyone else and they just can't see it?"

Lilly looked up at her mother, eyes narrowed. Her mother had worked for lawyers for years and always knew how to twist things around and the girl knew this was no different. "So, you're saying Miley is a good luck charm?"

Heather sighed. "No, I'm saying that people see what they want to and you cannot change that. But what you can change is how miserable you are, and how miserable you are probably making a very sweet girl, by not letting what those people see influence what you do."

Lilly let her mother's words run through her mind, repeating them over and over in her head to fully grasp what they meant. She knew her mother was right; she had known all along, but her own guilt over the accident and Michael's words mixed with those superstitions had clouded her mind. Lilly knew she loved Miley. Lilly knew Miley had never once hurt her. She had accused everyone else for trying to fit random coincidences into patterns and now she was guilty of it herself. How had she fallen prey to such bigoted thinking? How could she have hurt the only girl she had ever really loved?

Lilly sat up abruptly, snatching her phone off the table and stood up. She looked down at her mother, who was trying to hold back a knowing grin. Lilly took a deep breath and exhaled, her face determined. "I gotta go beg a very sweet girl for forgiveness."

She was out the door in the blink of an eye.


	16. Chapter 16

I know a lot of you are very upset with me for making Lilly such a twit, but hopefully this chapter will set her right in all your eyes. Sadly, there is only one more chapter left after this, but for now, enjoy ;)

* * *

**Chapter 16**

Lilly jumped off her skateboard, jogging the last few steps to the diner. A quick glance at the sky told her a storm was rolling in, weather to fit her mood. She was more nervous than she had ever been, but knew she could not put this off any longer. Miley did not deserve the continued silence. Lilly just hoped it wasn't too late, though Miley had always been excessively good-hearted and forgiving so she knew she might stand a chance. She tried to catch her breath and straighten out her clothes before entering the diner; she'd practically skated over in record time.

It was the second Wednesday of the month, which meant Miley would be forced to spend her day at the diner while Grandma Ruby went to the market in Murfreesboro. Lilly entered, almost cautiously, eyes immediately drawn to the booth in the back Miley normally sat at. It was empty. Lilly frowned, turning towards the bar, but other than the regular crew of old men, there was no one. She considered briefly whether Miley was avoiding her, but disregarded the thought immediately – Miley would not do that.

Lilly stepped up to the bar and perched on the edge of one of the stools, just waiting. There was no employee around and she shifted anxiously. She'd been so ready to face Miley, to deal with what a shitty girlfriend she had been, and now she was left in limbo. Susan suddenly appeared from the back, glanced briefly at Lilly, and ignored her. Lilly watched her bustling around with some ketchup containers, wondering if she was ever going to be acknowledged. Several minutes passed until Susan turned, sighing as if she'd realized Lilly was not going to go away.

The woman's eyes were red-rimmed and slightly swollen and Lilly tried not to gape in shock. Something was wrong and anxiety took a hold over her once again. "How can I help you, Lilly?"

Susan's words were polite, but her voice was anything but. Lilly wondered if Miley had told her mother she was not answering her calls. It was very likely; Miley told her mother almost everything.

"I uh…is Miley here?"

"No. Now unless you're going to order something I'll have to ask you to leave."

Lilly dug in her pocket, coming up with a few crumpled bills and some coins, and threw them on the bar. She ordered a Coke, much to Susan's obvious chagrin and waited for the woman to bring it to her. She could tell something was going on and wanted answers. Susan set the glass in front of her and moved to leave, but Lilly stopped her.

"Is Miley with Grandma Ruby? I thought she wasn't allowed to go to the market anymore after she spilled that truckload of walnuts on the street."

Susan frowned and began wiping down the counter, though her movements seemed half-hearted. After several moments she stopped, a look of defeat crossing her face. She looked at Lilly, "Grandma Ruby is in the hospital."

"W-what?"

Susan looked at her, almost suspiciously, "Miley said she called you."

Lilly tried not to let the immense guilt show on her face. Miley had called her a lot, but she had not listened to a single message. She shook her head, "Uh…I've been having some phone problems."

Susan didn't believe her, she could tell. "Right."

"What happened?"

Susan just shook her head, "She had a heart attack, two days ago. She's still in the hospital, but she is doing okay."

Lilly clenched her fist, now even angrier with herself. That call when she'd been at the library, had been Miley trying to tell her about her grandmother and she'd just ignored it. She'd ignored Miley and her pain. She rubbed a hand across her forehead, hoping again that it was not too late to save her relationship.

"So, is Miley with her at the hospital?" She'd drive out to Murfreesboro, or even Nashville, if she had to. She needed to make things right with Miley.

Susan clenched her jaw visibly and averted her eyes. "I don't know where she is. I haven't seen her in two days."

Dread pooled in Lilly's stomach and her hand shook as it reached for her glass. She stared at the woman, wondering whether she had even heard her correctly. "What do you mean?"

Susan met her eyes, anger flaring in them, "I mean, Miley is gone. I cannot find her anywhere."

"W-why would she leave?"

"People she loves keep leaving…she just can't handle it," said Susan, voice softer now as she thought about her daughter.

Lilly swallowed the lump in her throat. "But we haven't left…"

Susan looked at her, eyes intense, "Yeah."

She said nothing else and Lilly shook her head to clear it. She knew what she had to do and it was now more important than ever. She stood up abruptly, meeting Susan's eyes.

"I'll find her. I promise I will. I'm not gonna let her go."

Lilly's voice was full of determination, but Susan merely watched her go, not sure if she believed her.

...

Dark clouds were rolling in and Lilly heard the distant thunder. She knew she had to find Miley quickly, before something bad happened. She'd promised Susan she would find the girl, but in all honesty, she had no idea where to even start looking. It was a safe bet that the woman had searched all of Miley's regular haunts and every climbable tree on their property.

Lilly was walking through town, carrying her skateboard in her hand. Her mind was racing, trying to come up with possible places Miley might be hiding, but to no avail. The girl was just too much of a mystery for anyone to figure her out. Lilly sighed heavily and turned down Main Street. She glanced at the old, creepy tree that sat by City Hall and stopped when she saw the mass of people surrounding it. Her eyes followed their upturned gazes to see a figure moving in the highest branches of the tree.

Lilly's heart gave a jolt and she rushed towards the crowd. The first raindrops fell. She pushed through the people, towards the front, and stared up at the top. The crowd had gathered a good ways away, forming a half circle around the grassy area. Lilly's eyes scanned the tree with apprehension. It was tall, a good twenty feet, and almost entirely devoid of leaves. It looked dead and Lilly was almost reluctant to go near it.

All the way at the top, straddling one of the blackened branches, sat Miley, head turned towards the sky. Lilly had found her, but now she had no idea what to do with her. She moved towards the tree, but someone grabbed her arm and stopped her. She turned to look at Oliver, whose face was worried.

"Lilly, there's a storm coming. It's dangerous, especially near her."

She pulled her arm away, risking a quick glance at the sky. A raindrop landed in her eye. Lilly looked at Oliver, face grim, "I know. Do you think I'll just leave her up there to be struck?"

He looked unsure and Lilly knew it was exactly what everyone else had planned on doing. Even worse, they seemed to be waiting for it to happen. The thought made her angry and she turned, walking up to the tree. A murmur went through the crowd, but no one made a move to stop or help her. She looked up, the tree seeming so much taller from her current position.

"Miley!" yelled Lilly, as loud as she could. Strong gusts of wind were picking up, carrying her voice away.

Miley slowly looked down and even from the distance, Lilly could easily tell she'd been crying. Her face though, showed no emotion and it was so unlike how she remembered her girlfriend's face, Lilly's stomach dropped. Miley looked at her briefly, before staring straight ahead, not acknowledging the blonde.

"Miley, what are you doing up there? Come down!"

Still no acknowledgement. Miley turned her head to the sky again. Thunder sounded, closer now, and Lilly shuddered. Miley raised her arms, face turned upward. She was yelling, and even with the wind, Lilly could easily hear her words.

"I'm right here! Come and take me already!"

The words chilled Lilly to her bones and she glanced around for some sort of leverage. There was none. She looked up again, her worry intensifying. Miley's body was shaking with sobs.

"If you don't come down, I'm coming up there, Miley!"

Still no answer. Lilly turned, eyes scanning the crowd until she found Oliver and waved him over. He was reluctant, but joined her under the tree. He seemed more nervous than she was and that was saying something.

"Oliver, I need you to help me climb up that tree," said Lilly simply, looking at him expectantly.

Oliver glanced up the tree then back at her, looking unsure, "I don't know, Lilly…this is a bad idea."

Lilly glared at him, "I didn't ask for your opinion. Now will you help me?"

He seemed to hesitate, but eventually put his hands together for Lilly to step in. He practically lifted her to the first branch and, once she had climbed onto it, stepped away and moved back towards the safety of the crowd. Lilly reached for a second branch and swung herself onto it with minor difficulty.

She'd climbed plenty of trees in her time, but Lilly was nowhere near the tree climbing abilities of Miley and she worried she wouldn't make it to the top. She'd also developed a fear of heights that made this whole endeavor even more difficult. Lilly made slow progress and the higher she got, the more the gusts of wind threatened to blow her off the tree. Occasional raindrops still fell, but she was grateful it had not started raining in earnest. It thundered again, an ominous sound Lilly had come to hate. She continued her climb.

It probably took her a good fifteen minutes, but eventually she was just one branch away from her girlfriend. Miley had not moved or acknowledged her presence at all during that time and it worried her. Lilly risked a glance down, regretting it immediately. The crowd had only grown larger and she cursed the people for gathering to watch imminent disaster, yet no one had called for help. Lilly pulled herself up the last branch, very carefully, and ended up face to face with Miley, barely a foot apart.

Miley looked at her and though it was obvious she was trying to hold it all in, the tears nevertheless spilled from her eyes and her chin quivered. Her breath hitched with each sob and her shoulders shook. Lilly had never seen her like this and it scared her. She wrapped her fingers around Miley's wrist.

"Miley…Miles…please, just come down," begged Lilly, hoping she could get through.

Miley merely shook her head, sniffing. Lilly tried to shove the panic and frustration away, but it was getting harder. Here she was twenty feet in the air, perched on a dead tree branch, while a thunderstorm was coming their way.

"You're gonna get struck again, sitting up here…"

Miley looked up into the sky and despite the sobs, her voice sounded almost normal, "If it wants me so bad, it can have me."

"If what wants you?" Lilly was at a loss of what to do.

"The lightning. The gods. The demons. Whatever put this curse on me. It just keeps spitting me back out, but…it takes everyone else." Miley started crying again and Lilly slid a few inches closer, grasping both the girl's hands in hers.

"Miles, please listen to me…you're not cursed. And no one is being taken this time," said Lilly intently, forcing Miley to look at her.

Miley shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut, "It took my whole family…it made you stop loving me…why won't it just take **me**?"

Tears welled up in her own eyes and Lilly swallowed the lump in her throat. She moved her hands to Miley's upper arms, squeezing tightly enough to make the girl look at her.

"Miley, I never stopped loving you. I was a dumb, foolish, idiotic, horrible dumbass, but I always loved you. Sometimes when people love each other they do stupid things they regret and hopefully the other person can forgive them."

"My daddy and Jackson…you think they'll forgive me?" Miley sounded so broken and sincere when she asked her question, her head turned to the right to hide her face.

Lilly blinked, confused. "Why would they need to forgive you?"

Miley turned back to face Lilly, more tears spilling from her eyes, while her chin quivered pitifully.

"Miley…what…" Lilly was too shocked to form a coherent sentence and Miley looked down.

"They said there was lightning…it must've been coming for me…it wanted **me**." She was sobbing, heart-wrenching sounds that tore at Lilly's insides.

Lilly took Miley's wrists and pulled the girl's hands away from her face, leaning in so she had no choice but to look at her. "Miley, listen to me, that was **not** your fault. It was an accident and your dad and brother know that."

Miley shook her head almost forcefully, "They were taken and I'm still here."

"And everyone, me, your mom, your grandma, your dad and brother included, I'm sure, are so goddamn grateful for that. The people that love you couldn't stand it if you weren't here, Miley."

The fervor in her voice was enough to make the corner of Miley's mouth twitch slightly, but she looked away again. A gust of wind shook the tree, but they remained steady on the branch. Darker clouds rolled in, nearly blacking out the sun. Miley looked down at her hands.

"My grandma…"

"…is alive, Miles. She's in the hospital, but your mom said she was gonna be fine."

Miley looked at her, doubt in her eyes. She was clearly wondering whether Lilly would lie to her about this to get her out of the tree.

"She's really okay?"

"Yes, Miley, I would never lie to you about that."

Miley nodded and sighed heavily. She looked around them, before finally meeting Lilly's eyes again, "You thought I'm cursed, too."

It was Lilly's turn to sigh. "I was freaked out about my parents and what Michael was saying and it made me think some really stupid things. I know it's not your fault, Miley, none of it is."

Miley looked away from her, obviously not convinced. Lilly grabbed her hands again. "Maybe everyone just has it turned around. I mean, in all the time I've known you, nothing bad has ever happened to me. So, maybe you're really my good luck charm…"

Miley scoffed, still not meeting her eyes. Lilly slid as close as possible, until they were practically touching and reached over to cup Miley's cheeks with her hands. She knew there was a whole crowd of nosy townspeople watching, but she did not care. Lilly pulled Miley's face towards her own and pressed their lips together. She tasted tears and dirt and rain, but the feeling of pure joy she always felt kissing her girlfriend burned just as bright as ever. When she pulled away, Miley's blue eyes were gazing intently into her own.

"I love you, Miley, curse or no curse, no matter what."

Miley stared into her eyes and for that moment, it was just them. They weren't sitting in a tree, dangerously close to lightning and rain, with a crowd of crazy people watching them. It was just Miley and Lilly, together. Miley finally smiled and though it was nowhere near as overwhelming as her smiles normally were, Lilly felt a huge weight lift off her chest.

"I love you, too."

Lilly sighed in relief, looking around at their predicament. Raindrops were falling more steadily now, but still not consistently enough to be a problem. Dark grey clouds dipped the area into an eerie light, while the wind rustled the leaves on nearby trees and pulled at their clothes. Thunder boomed, close enough now they could feel it shaking the ground. It was definitely time to get out of there.

"Can we go down now?" asked Lilly, hopeful.

Miley nodded curtly, pushing herself back completely against the trunk and reaching for a branch on the side. Lilly moved past her to grab the branch and slowly maneuvered herself onto the one below. She really hoped it wouldn't take her as long to get down as it had getting up. The dead branch creaked under her weight and she glanced up at her girlfriend.

"What's with this tree, anyway?"

Miley moved sideways on her branch to follow the blonde, "It's the Lightning Tree."

"The what?"

"The Lightning Tree. It's been struck as many times as me…and it's still standing. It's quite a miracle, which is probably why they haven't torn it down, yet," said Miley with a shrug, waiting for Lilly to move so she could climb down.

Lilly gave her a weird look, "You're still standing, too, Miles."

Miley grinned, "They haven't torn me down, either." She bounced slightly on her branch, anxious now, "Come on, let's go down."

Lilly was just about to make a comment about whose fault it was in the first place they were even up there, when Miley stiffened so significantly it was hard to miss. Lilly looked up at her girlfriend, wondering what was wrong, but Miley's face was once again turned to the sky. When she looked back at Lilly, she was deathly pale.

"Lilly, you gotta hurry…you gotta get off this tree." Her voice shook with panic.

"Miley, what's wrong?" asked Lilly, not sure what had happened. Miley had seemed okay just a few seconds ago.

Miley scrambled into an awkward squatting position on her branch, her eyes pleading with Lilly, "Please, Lilly, please…you gotta go…hurry!"

The urgency and terror in her voice spurred Lilly into action and she grabbed for the next branch to lower herself down. Then she noticed Miley wasn't following her and looked up. Miley hadn't moved at all, still crouched down on her branch, white as a ghost, while her hand was clamped around the branch.

"Miley, come on…" yelled Lilly and Miley's terrified eyes met hers again.

Miley's voice quivered, "Lilly, it's coming…it's coming…you won't make it."

Before Lilly had a chance to ask **what** was coming, Miley had stood up and was climbing around the side of the trunk. She stood on the farthest branch, not even bothering to hold on and Lilly yelled at her to come down. Her voice was swallowed by the wind. Then Miley ran. She leapt off the end of the branch, falling through the air for just a split-second, before a bolt of pure, white light shot into her. An ear-piecing clap rang through the air, followed by a thud. Then everything was silent.

_to be continued_


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

.

This couldn't be happening. Lilly kept repeating the phrase over and over in her head, like a mantra, as she climbed hastily down the tree. She was done being cautious and branches and twigs scratched her arms, legs and face as she went down, almost haphazardly moving from branch to branch. It reminded her of the same reckless abandon Miley normally portrayed climbing trees, but it was nowhere near the same. Lilly was only driven by fear and pure agony. She hardly dared to look down and in some ways she was grateful the sparse leaves of the tree spared her view from the scene below. Other than the wind there were no sounds, though she clearly heard the frantic beating of her heart. Perhaps it knew it was likely to be broken very soon.

Her hands shook as she grasped the branch and at last let herself drop onto the grass below. The crowd still stood off to the side, their faces betraying the shock they felt, yet no one had moved to help. Lilly didn't want to turn, she didn't want to see, but knew she had to. Just a few feet away Miley lay deathly still in the grass. Lilly was next to her in an instant, dropping to her knees. She reached a shaky hand out towards her girlfriend, turning Miley's face towards her. Miley did not react, her eyes closed.

"Miley, please…wake up…please," Lilly begged, realizing for the first time she was crying.

Miley did not move and her eyes remained closed. Though Lilly could see no outward injuries on the girl, she knew a fall from that height plus the lightning strike had likely done some serious damage to her girlfriend. Miley had jumped to save her. Lilly swallowed the lump in her throat and pushed all her pain and fear away, trying to focus. Her mother had forced her to take a First Aid class years ago and the blonde tried to remember what she had learned. She leaned closer to Miley, trying to discern a rising of the girl's chest or a breath exhaled from her lips, but she found nothing.

Renewed panic swelled inside of her and she turned to the crowd still watching her. "Help me, please…she's not breathing."

The crowd remained unmoving and silent, until one lone voice cried out from the safety of the masses. "Ding dong, the witch is dead!"

Some people joined in with the cheer and a sudden fury descended upon Lilly. "What is **wrong** with you people? You just saw her save my life!"

"After all the ones she took!" yelled a man in the crowd and several others agreed vocally.

Lilly squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she were somewhere safe, Miley in her arms being silly like always. But that was not the case and she had to focus, she had to save Miley and she would have to do it on her own. The blonde tilted her girlfriend's head back, pinched her nose shut and pressed her lips to Miley's. She blew the life-saving air into the unconscious girl's lungs, watching as Miley's chest rose and fell. She repeated the action and moved back to check for signs of breathing, but still nothing.

"What if you save her and she kills us all?" A hysteric voice sounded from the crowd.

Lilly only half-heartedly glanced at the crowd, before she sat up on her knees and put her hands on Miley's chest. She'd practiced this, multiple times, and it had seemed so simple, but now, the thought of doing it seemed impossible. Lilly gritted her teeth and began chest compressions, trying to keep the rapid rhythm required, but the hateful words of the crowd wouldn't leave her alone.

"What if she's been saving you all along?" yelled Lilly, angry with the crowd for hating Miley and angry with herself she had let it come to this.

"What the Sam hell are ya talkin' about, girl?"

She wasn't looking at them, too focused on continuing the compressions and keeping count in her head. When she reached thirty, she leaned back down to blow two more breaths into Miley's lungs. She still did not respond. The fear took stronger hold of Lilly's heart, but she ignored it and went back to doing compressions. Miley had to live; she had to be okay.

Lilly blinked the tears away, trying to concentrate, trying to focus, but the panic was so close to overwhelming her. She couldn't shake the image of Miley jumping off the tree, of the lightning bolt striking her girlfriend's body. Her arms were beginning to ache and she wondered how long she could keep doing this before she'd have to stop. She stopped again to breathe for Miley, thinking of the crowd behind her. They were fools, all of them, and if she lost her girlfriend because of them, there would be hell to pay. She went back to doing compressions.

"Every time she was struck…those around her…were saved." Lilly was trying to catch her breath, but it was getting harder. But she couldn't let those people get away with thinking Miley was evil, not when she knew it was so wrong.

"She's saved her family…your children…me…you…you're all just too close-minded to see it."

Another murmur went through the crowd, voices overlapping each other, swallowed by the wind so Lilly could barely make out what they were saying. Her words seemed to have made them uncomfortable.

"That doesn't make any sense," yelled a random man, loudly enough for her to hear, but it almost sounded like he was fishing for an explanation.

Lilly squeezed her eyes shut briefly, too focused on what she was doing to really concentrate on them. She turned her head just enough to see Oliver standing at the front of the crowd and she knew he was her best link to them.

"Oliver, you were there…tell them…how many kids would have been struck…if Miley hadn't ran?"

The boy seemed to hesitate, but the numerous questioning stares forced him to answer. "A dozen, maybe. A lot…me…"

More voices rose from the crowd, but they sounded unsure. Lilly scoffed, growing even angrier with them. "Who remembers…the new mayor's inauguration last year?"

The murmur died down slightly, as most of them had clearly been present and remembered exactly what had happened. "She was in this same tree…when she was hit. Who would've been hit instead? Oliver? George? Old Ed?"

The air once again buzzed with a cacophony of voices, disbelieving, angry, unsure, guilty, but Lilly pushed them away. There was no point trying to convince them of what she knew was the absolute truth in her heart; she couldn't help having wanted to try. Things were going so wrong. She might have been doing CPR on Miley for three hours or three minutes, to Lilly it all felt like an eternity. Her heart was already breaking, the tears of grief already cascading down her face. Her arms trembled from her continuous effort and she was out of breath. She wanted bitterly to stop, but she could not let Miley die. She could not give up, not when Miley had sacrificed herself to save her. Lilly stifled a sob.

"Come on…breathe, Miley…just breathe."

There was still no response. Lilly could hardly feel her arms anymore. They burned with each movement and then it was as if she couldn't move them at all. Lilly yelled in frustration, knowing she had lost. She could not save Miley. She sat back on her heels, crying. Suddenly someone knelt down across from her and gently pushed her hands aside, before continuing the compressions. Lilly looked at Oliver, partially stunned, but grateful. New tears leaked from her eyes.

"Miley's not evil," yelled Lilly defiantly and heard the murmur in the crowd this time. She brushed the tears from her eyes and leaned down to breathe for Miley again.

"Come on, roadkill…breathe…just do it for me," begged Lilly, watching as Oliver rhythmically depressed the girl's chest. She heard a crack and winced. Oliver stopped again to let her give the rescue breaths.

Lilly leaned down to press her lips against Miley's again, when she felt the tiniest hint of a breath against her cheek. She cupped Miley's cheek, frantically trying to discern whether she had just imagined it. But with agonizing slowness, Miley blinked her eyes open, drawing another shuddering breath. Lilly's heart jumped from joy, as if the oppressive chains of grief and despair had suddenly melted away. It took several seconds for Miley's blue eyes to meet hers, but when they did, Lilly felt like crying again.

Her trademark grin spread across Miley's face, albeit a bit weak. Her voice shook as she spoke, but at least she was alive. "Lilly, I won."

"Wh-what?" asked Lilly, confused, wondering if Miley had hit her head. The brunette tried to push herself up, but both Lilly and Oliver stopped her with hands on her shoulders. "Miles, don't move. You might be seriously hurt."

"I won. I beat the Lightning Tree, five to four," said Miley, sounding almost triumphant and not at all like she had just jumped from a twenty-foot height to be hit by lightning and have her heart stop beating.

"You…you're crazy, Miley. Why did you do that?" yelled Lilly; the lifting of her panic and grief had given an irate anger a chance to rise.

Miley looked away briefly, before meeting her eyes again. Her hand reached shakily for Lilly's, who took it despite her anger. She noticed the burn mark on Miley's palm for the first time and swallowed hard.

"Lilly, I couldn't let you die…it would've taken you, too…I couldn't let it."

Lilly took a deep breath and shook her head, the anger bleeding out of her. "You've done that before, haven't you?"

"Never from that height," said Miley, now smirking slightly again and Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Keep the lightning from taking people, I mean."

Miley looked into her eyes, but did not respond. Lilly didn't need a response to know the truth. She nodded softly and leaned down to press a soft kiss to her girlfriend's forehead. Miley groaned slightly as she pulled away and Lilly knew that despite her bravado, she must have been hurt. She wondered how she would get Miley out of there.

"Just relax Mile, we're gonna get you to a hospital," said Lilly softly, trying to sound reassuring, but she had no idea how she'd even get that accomplished. She had no car and highly doubted the town having an ambulance.

Oliver touched her arm lightly and she looked up, having forgotten he was even there. He nodded towards the crowd. "Mable called an ambulance a little while ago. It takes them forever to get here, though."

Lilly turned her head to the crowd, almost shocked. The people were no longer standing shoulder to shoulder, the crowd having dispersed somewhat, though people were still mingling about. It was hard to judge from her position, but she thought they at least no longer looked murderous. Someone had called an ambulance, which to her was akin to a miracle.

She sat back on the grass, suddenly feeling drained and tired. Lilly still held Miley's hand and she knew she'd be going to the hospital with her girlfriend, but she just wished she could go to sleep. A voice rang out suddenly, panicked, breaking through the crowd.

"Miley!"

Lilly turned, trying to discern where it was coming from. She knew there was only one person, other than her, in this town who really cared for the girl. Miley squeezed her hand and Lilly looked back at her. Miley had an odd look on her face.

"I think I'm gonna be grounded for a while."

Lilly blinked then burst out laughing. It was as if all the fear and pain and tears just drained out of her and she suddenly felt okay again. She brushed her other hand lightly across Miley's head, smiling, just as Susan reached them and dropped into the grass besides them.

"I think so, too, roadkill. I think so, too."

**xxx**

Four Weeks Later

.

"Miley, stop that," said Susan Stewart with a heavy sigh, though she did not look up from her task.

Lilly glanced over her shoulder, marveling at the fact Susan seemed to instinctively know when her daughter was doing something stupid. She shook her head and set the last of the plates on the table, while Susan returned into the kitchen to check on the food. Lilly followed, though her eyes tracked her girlfriend from across the breakfast bar. She watched her, amusement twinkling in her eyes. Miley was trying to do a wheelie in her wheelchair, quite unsuccessfully and Susan and Lilly, who had watched her fail multiple times, knew this attempt, too, would only end in disaster.

"Miley!"

The girl looked up, letting the wheelchair drop back onto all four wheels with a sheepish grin. Lilly did feel sympathy for her girlfriend; for someone like Miley it was torture being stuck in that chair for weeks on end with no way to relieve her energy. While the lightning strike had, again, done fairly little damage besides some new burns, the twenty-foot jump from the tree had done a number on the girl. Miley had practically shattered the bones in both her legs and feet and she'd had to endure multiple surgeries to be put back together. Because of the severity of the breaks and with both her legs involved, she'd been relegated to a wheelchair until her legs healed sufficiently to support weight. Miley was not happy about it, but they all knew it could have been so much worse.

Susan especially knew she had come dangerously close to losing her daughter. She also knew she owed Lilly for saving Miley's life, even though Lilly insisted the two girls were merely even now. Lilly had been a near permanent fixture at the cabin for the past three days since Miley's release from the hospital, though no one, least of all Miley, minded. She still couldn't believe she had been so stupid and nearly lost the most amazing girl ever – she thanked her mom almost daily.

"Miley, go wake your grandma and tell her it's time for dinner," said Susan, handing a bowl to Lilly to be taken to the table. Miley only mumbled a response, but sped down the hallway in her chair, nevertheless, almost bumping into a wall as she careened around the corner.

"Maybe you should get her a recliner instead; she is a menace with that thing," said Lilly, shaking her head as she watched her girlfriend go.

Susan chuckled, "Alright, I will let you break the news to her."

Lilly made a face at the thought of telling over-energetic Miley she'd have to sit still all day. It had been bad enough when Miley was restricted to her hospital bed in the weeks after the jump. She'd gone through multiple surgeries on the first few days and had therefore been mostly drugged, but once she was no longer sedated she had been nearly unbearable with her hyperactivity and anxiousness. Someone at the hospital had thought it a good idea, instead of foisting Miley on some other poor patient, to room her with her grandmother, much to the older woman's chagrin. Grandma Ruby had been released just a few days after Miley had been admitted, however.

Miley came back into the living room, at a much more subdued pace and Lilly wondered whether Grandma Ruby had given her another stern talking to. Lilly and Susan set the last of the food bowls onto the table, when they heard a crash. Both turned and Susan merely sighed at what she saw. Lilly, feeling just as exasperated, though knowing she couldn't let her girlfriend suffer, walked over to Miley, who looked up at her and made a face. She'd finally managed to tip over the wheelchair backwards, and was stuck on her back, with her brace imprisoned legs sticking into the air.

Lilly knew it had to hurt and decided not to say anything, reaching for the wheel brake, before righting the chair again with Miley in it. Miley smiled once they were face to face and Lilly leaned in, bringing their lips together softly. Miley was a great kisser, making Lilly's body tingle all the way down to her toes. She'd been trying to hold back for the past few weeks, because she knew, despite what she said, Miley was in a lot of pain. The girl never complained and one could hardly tell, except maybe in the evenings when she was stiff from sitting all day, but even then, it was only noticeable to those few people who knew Miley well enough.

"Come on, road kill, let's eat," said Lilly, leaning in for another quick kiss. Miley grabbed the front of Lilly's shirt and pulled her even closer, snaking her tongue into Lilly's mouth. There was no way Lilly could have stopped herself and she responded in kind, until someone cleared their throat loud enough for the two girls to break apart.

Miley laughed, while Lilly blushed a furious red as she turned to face Susan. She was already sitting at the table, Grandma Ruby next to her. Lilly hadn't even seen her come into the room and she blushed harder. She followed Miley to the table, sitting at her own designated spot. She remembered the first time she'd come over for dinner at Miley's and how awkward she'd felt then. Now it was just normal and she ate dinner here more often than at her own home.

Miley was already digging in, wolfing down her food with an amazing speed, and despite the looks of exasperation on her mother and grandmother's face, Lilly knew the two women were secretly glad Miley was doing so well despite everything. Lilly had spent a good deal of time talking to them while Miley was unconscious at the hospital and she knew they accepted her and liked her. She couldn't remember ever before having dated someone where everyone seemed to like each other - parents, grandparents and girlfriends.

"Hey momma, guess who came by today?" said Miley, mouth half-full with food.

Susan merely gave her a reproachful look for speaking with her mouth full and Miley swallowed before continuing. "George."

"George, who owns the General Store?" Susan sounded apprehensive and Lilly couldn't blame her, knowing how the townspeople had been behaving for years. "What did he want?"

Miley shrugged. "Oh, grandma had forgotten something when she went. But he brought me some lollipops. He said he knew how much I liked them and since I wouldn't be able to come by for a while…"

Susan stared at her daughter for a few moments, then blinked. "Wow, uh…that's mighty nice of George. I hope you thanked him."

"Of course, momma," said Miley, sounding as if it had been an insult to even consider her failure to do so.

Lilly knew how shocked Susan felt; she'd felt the same way earlier when Miley had told her about it. It was hard to tell how the townspeople felt about Miley after everything that had happened, but Lilly felt as if things might have turned around, if only a bit. At the very least, she hadn't heard anyone say mean things to or about her girlfriend and that was a start, at least. She'd hung out with Oliver and Sarah once or twice and, though they still seemed somewhat apprehensive, they no longer tried to get her to break up with Miley or insinuate she was evil.

The most blatant change had come from her own brother, who despite his misgivings had actually come to apologize to Miley for what he had done. Lilly had been the most surprised of all and had wondered for the longest time whether her parents had forced him to do it. But Michael had admitted eventually that, despite everything he had felt, he could not hate someone who had been willing to sacrifice her own life to save Lilly's. While he might still not be a member of the Miley fan club, he was coming around.

"Lilly, are you staying tonight?" asked Susan, as if it were the most normal thing to ask someone her daughter was dating.

"Of course, Mrs. S. If Miley doesn't mind," said Lilly, smirking at her girlfriend.

Miley grinned. "I only mind when you hog all the covers."

Lilly made a face at her, but under the table she reached for Miley's hand and grasped it. Miley squeezed back, smiling at her widely. Of course, Lilly had stayed every nights since Miley had been back home, partially to reassure herself she was alive and partially because Miley claimed she only felt better when Lilly was around. Their families teased them relentlessly, but Lilly knew there was nothing wrong with being in love. And they were – totally, utterly, completely in love. And she wouldn't have it any other way, lightning strikes and mysteries be damned.

_The End_


End file.
